These were two major political compromises designed to manage the issue of slavery's expansion in the United States.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was passed to maintain the balance of power between free and slave states in the Senate.

It admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

It also prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30′ parallel.

The Compromise of 1850 addressed the status of territories acquired from the Mexican-American War.

It was a package of five separate bills.

Its key provisions included admitting California as a free state and allowing the territories of Utah and New Mexico to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty.

It also included the passage of a much stricter Fugitive Slave Act, which required Northerners to assist in returning escaped slaves.

The Fugitive Slave Act was highly controversial and inflamed anti-slavery sentiment in the North.

These compromises were temporary solutions that postponed, but did not prevent, the outbreak of the Civil War.