Question

Explain the Missouri Compromise. Why was this important? Who was involved? How did the two political parties deal with the issue of slavery in the western territory?

Answer 1

• The Missouri Compromise was an effort by Congress to defuse the sectional and political rivalries triggered by the request of Missouri late in 1819 for admission as a state in which slavery would be permitted. At the time, the United States contained twenty-two states, evenly divided between slave and free. In an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.
• It was signed by President James Monroe.The agreement was between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories.
• The importance of the Missouri Compromise was that it set a pattern for the enlargement of the United States without upsetting the political balance between the slave-holding and "free" states. Missouri was settled by many slave-holders, and it sought admission as a state which would permit slavery.
• To accept it into the Union would have altered the balance of slave and free states in the US Senate, which many in the north found unacceptable. The compromise was that simultaneous with the admission of Missouri to the Union, Maine was separated from Massachusetts and was admitted as a non-slavery permitting state.
• Henry Clay then skillfully led the forces of compromise, engineering separate votes on the controversial measures.