What was Senator Clay's contribution to the Compromise of 1850?

Senator Henry Clay played a critical role in the formulation and passage of the Compromise of 1850. He is often remembered as the "Great Compromiser" for his ability to craft agreements on contentious issues. His primary contribution was the introduction of a series of resolutions on January 29, 1850, that he hoped would reconcile the interests of the slaveholding states of the South and the free states of the North.

The Compromise of 1850 consisted of five main parts: 1. The admittance of California as a free state. 2. The establishment of territorial governments for the lands acquired from Mexico, with the question of slavery to be decided by the local settlers (popular sovereignty). 3. The settlement of the boundary dispute between Texas and the New Mexico Territory, with the federal government taking on the Texas public debt. 4. The abolition of the slave trade (not slavery itself) in the District of Columbia. 5. The creation of a more stringent Fugitive Slave Law to appease Southern demands.

Clay was instrumental in shaping and advocating for these measures, though the final passage of the Compromise required the efforts of others as well, including Stephen A. Douglas, who broke down the package of resolutions into separate bills that could be voted on individually.