Issue

Without major compromises by all involved, and the agreement to avoid the contentious issue of slavery, the framers would never have written and ratified the Constitution.

At five critical junctures in American history, major political compromises have proved that little of lasting consequence can occur if the entrenched sides don't make serious concessions.

Over the question of whether Missouri should be admitted to the Union as a free or slave state in 1820, creative moderates brokered an ingenious compromise that averted civil war.

Fistfights broke out in Congress in 1850 over whether the territories just won in the Mexican War should be slave or free—and only a last-minute series of compromises prevented catastrophe.

Compromise upon compromise whittled FDR’s dreams down considerably, but enabled him to pass the Social Security Act, perhaps the most sweeping social reform of the 20th century.

Employing shrewd politics and a strong dose of compromise, LBJ passes comprehensive federal insurance for seniors. 

American doughboys proved their mettle in the forests and fields of eastern France during World War I.

Although marred by the grisly murders of three young activists, the Freedom Summer of 1964 brought revolutionary changes to Mississippi and the nation.

A new bridge spans the Colorado River near the dam that came to symbolize America’s great promise—and changed the American West forever.