Missouri Compromise

Definition

The Missouri Compromise was a political agreement passed by the U.S. Congress in 1820 that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while also drawing a line at the 36°30' parallel to divide future states into slave and free territories. This compromise aimed to maintain the balance of power between slave states and free states in Congress.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. The Missouri Compromise was a critical political compromise that temporarily defused the growing sectional tensions between the North and South over the expansion of slavery.
2. The compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance of power in the Senate between slave and free states.
3. The compromise also drew a line at the 36°30' parallel, declaring that all future states north of this line would be free, while those south of it could be slave states.
4. The compromise was seen as a victory for the South, as it allowed for the expansion of slavery, but it also fueled resentment in the North over the growing political influence of the 'Slave Power'.
5. The Missouri Compromise was eventually undermined by the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, which repealed the compromise and allowed settlers in those territories to decide the status of slavery for themselves.

Review Questions

• Explain how the Missouri Compromise was a temporary solution to the growing sectional tensions over the expansion of slavery.
  • The Missouri Compromise was a political agreement that aimed to maintain the balance of power between slave states and free states in Congress. By admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, and drawing a line at the 36°30' parallel to divide future states, the compromise temporarily defused the growing sectional tensions between the North and South over the expansion of slavery. However, the compromise was seen as a victory for the South, as it allowed for the expansion of slavery, which fueled resentment in the North over the growing political influence of the 'Slave Power'. The compromise was eventually undermined by the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, which repealed the compromise and allowed settlers in those territories to decide the status of slavery for themselves, reigniting the sectional conflict.
• Analyze how the Missouri Compromise was connected to the broader issues of sectionalism and Manifest Destiny in the early 19th century.
  • The Missouri Compromise was closely tied to the growing sectionalism between the North and South in the early 19th century. The compromise was a political maneuver to maintain the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, reflecting the heightened loyalty to one's own region over the nation as a whole. Additionally, the expansion of slavery westward, as facilitated by the Missouri Compromise, was seen by many as part of the nation's 'Manifest Destiny' to expand across the North American continent. This fueled tensions between the North and South, as the South sought to preserve its economic and political power through the expansion of slavery, while the North increasingly resisted the growth of the 'Slave Power' and the perceived injustice of slavery. The Missouri Compromise was a temporary solution to these broader sectional and ideological conflicts.
• Evaluate the long-term impact of the Missouri Compromise on the events leading up to the Civil War, including the Dred Scott decision and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
  • The Missouri Compromise, while initially successful in defusing sectional tensions, ultimately had a significant long-term impact on the events leading up to the Civil War. The compromise was seen as a victory for the South, as it allowed for the expansion of slavery, fueling resentment in the North over the growing political influence of the 'Slave Power'. This contributed to the heightened sectionalism and distrust between the North and South in the decades following the compromise. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise, reigniting the debate over the expansion of slavery and leading to violent clashes in 'Bleeding Kansas'. Additionally, the Dred Scott decision of 1857, which ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, further undermined the compromise and eroded the fragile political balance between slave and free states. These events, rooted in the legacy of the Missouri Compromise, ultimately set the stage for the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.

Related terms

Sectionalism:

The heightened loyalty to one's own region or section of the country over the nation as a whole, leading to political and economic conflicts between the North and South.

Slave Power: The perceived political dominance of the Southern slaveholding elite in the federal government, which fueled Northern fears and resentment.

Manifest Destiny:

The 19th-century belief that the United States was destined to expand across the North American continent, which contributed to tensions over the expansion of slavery.