The Missouri Compromise: Resolving Slavery Expansion and Dividing the Nation

the 1820 agreement by Congress that Missouri would enter the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state and slavery would not be allowed in any states formed north of a line even with Missouri’s southern border.

Missouri Compromise:

The 1820 agreement you are referring to is known as the Missouri Compromise. It was a landmark agreement between Northern and Southern lawmakers and was intended to regulate and resolve the issue of slavery expansion in newly admitted states to the Union.

At the time, tensions were high between the North and South over the issue of slavery. In 1819, Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state, which would have upset the balance of power between slave states and free states in Congress. In response, Henry Clay, a prominent politician, proposed a compromise.

Under the Missouri Compromise, Missouri would enter the Union as a slave state, and Maine would enter as a free state to maintain the balance of power. Additionally, slavery would be prohibited in any new states formed north of the southern boundary of Missouri (the 36°30′ parallel). The compromise essentially drew a line across the country, dividing it into a slaveholding South and a free North.

The Missouri Compromise remained in effect until 1854 when it was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This led to further tensions between the North and South and ultimately contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Today, the Missouri Compromise is considered a significant moment in American history as it highlighted the deep political and moral divisions surrounding the issue of slavery and foreshadowed the impending conflict that would ultimately lead to the end of slavery in the United States.

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