Editing Compromise of 1850 (section)

=== Main figures ===
[[File:Henry Clay Senate3.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|''The United States Senate, A.D. 1850'' (engraving by [[Peter F. Rothermel]]):<br />[[Henry Clay]] takes the floor of the [[Old Senate Chamber]]; Vice President [[Millard Fillmore]] presides as [[John C. Calhoun]] (to the right of Fillmore's chair) and [[Daniel Webster]] (seated to the left of Clay) look on.]]The problem of what to do with the territories became the leading issue in Congress. So began the most famous debates in the history of Congress. At the head were the three titans of Congress: Henry Clay, [[Daniel Webster]], and [[John C. Calhoun]]. All had been born during the American Revolution, and had carried the torch of the [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Fathers]]. This represented their last and greatest act in politics. The nationalist Clay and Webster sought compromise, while Southern sectionalist Calhoun warned of imminent disaster. The triumvirate would be broken before long as Calhoun would die of [[tuberculosis]]. In March, shortly before his death, his final speech was delivered by his friend, Virginia Senator [[James M. Mason]], as the blanket-wrapped Calhoun sat nearby, too weak to do it himself. He provided a prescient warning that the South perceived the balance between North and South as broken, and that any further imbalance might lead to war. The situation was severe.{{Sfn|McPherson|1988|pp=70–72}}

Other players included a variety of rising politicians who would play key roles in the Civil War, such as the staunch anti-slavery [[William H. Seward]] and [[Salmon P. Chase]], who would be in Lincoln's cabinet, the future president of the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]], [[Jefferson Davis]], and rival to Abraham Lincoln, [[Stephen A. Douglas]].{{Sfn|McPherson|1988|pp=70–72}}