The Missouri Compromise Goals: To understand the tensions between the North and the South To understand how a compromise only delayed the inevitable

Now, about that slavery thing… Slavery and labor-intensive crops were staples in the South for roughly 100 years The North grew more and more annoyed with the institution As more states applied for statehood, whether they were to be slave or free states became increasingly important

The Balance of Power Between , four states were admitted to the Union Indiana and Illinois were admitted as free states Alabama and Mississippi were admitted as slave states This balance would be upset as the country grew into the Louisiana Purchase

Upsetting the Balance The Union had 11 free states and 11 slave states Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state Allowing Missouri in as a slave state would upset the balance in Congress Slavery had been a hot topic since the creation of the Constitution

Pros and Cons Defenders of slavery claimed that it was beneficial for economic reasons Abolitionists argued that slavery contradicted the basic principles of the Declaration of Independence Both pro-slavery and abolitionist Americans were willing to resort to violence to achieve their goals

“Okay, then, each side gets a state!” Since Congress was split, they decided to add one slave state and one free state Maine became a free state Missouri became a slave state Henry Clay was the architect of the Missouri Compromise and worked hard to preserve the Union

Details of the Missouri Compromise Missouri was admitted as a slave state Maine was admitted as a free state Slavery was forbidden north of the 36 degree latitude mark, the southern boundary of Missouri People in the North were encouraged to return runaway slaves to their masters Slavery was not prohibited anywhere, not even in the free territories

Putting Off the Inevitable This compromise kept the argument at bay, but it didn’t do anything to cure the problem This course of action eventually put Congress in a very difficult spot within the next 30 years The US was going to have to make a conclusive decision about slavery sooner or later