The Missouri Compromise: Cause Of The Civil War

Abdelrahman Abdelhamid

History 1301

Prof. O'Gilvie

The Missouri Compromise

In the years leading up to the Missouri Compromise of 1820, tensions began to rise between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions within the U.S. Congress and across the country. They reached a boiling point after Missouri’s 1819 request for admission to the Union as a slave state, which threatened to upset the delicate balance between slave states and free states.

At this moment in time, Congress was in the middle of deliberating Missouri statehood, by this time a normal expectation whenever a boundary territory accomplished the qualifying number of white settlers. Rapidly Tallmadge had thrilled the proceedings by introducing a debatable proposal: statehood should

In a moment the smoldering coals of the slavery issue threatened to catch fire and burn out of control.

While on the other side, some Americans were strong-minded to surpass sectionalism and create an "era of good feelings." Inspired moderates such as President James Monroe, Rep. Henry Clay of Kentucky, and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun seized the initiative away from the truculent sectional extremists to avoid civil war. They worked out one of the most memorable compromises of American history.

In an attempt to improve the situation, Northern congressmen were quick to bring up that many of the South's most respected statesmen, either Thomas Jefferson, had often expressed a desire to find any solution of perpetuating slavery. So far now the South presented a virtually solid opposition and Thomas Jefferson joined their campaign which were required to force manumission upon a new state. Many days of arguments in the congress debates between the Northern and Southern congressmen about the Missouri controversy and the way headed the sessions were portending that the next era will initiate to a recurring sectional no way. Later on, this arguments will be a main and important reason in the civil war

The House of Representatives narrowly approved gradual manumission 80 Northern votes to 14 while the South object just two votes to 64. But the slave states had greater strength in the Senate; besides, three of the four senators from Illinois and Indiana reflected the sentiment of settlers from the South and voted against the amendment. The Senate refused to accept any restriction on slavery and that was the reason that led to the Missouri compromise. Many of the senate leaders worked behind the scenes to create a compromise and break the dead end. The Senate leadership quickly joined the admission of Maine to be either a free state of not with Missouri into a single bill, which if passed would domain the concise balance of sections in the Senate. While the Northern majority still determining to enforce gradual manumission, Senator Jesse Thomas of Illinois suggested that slavery should be prohibited not in Missouri but in all the rest of the Louisiana Purchase lying north of 36°30′ latitude.

The Thomas proviso passed the House 95 out of 100 Northern rep. while Southerners were 39 to 37. By the Thomas proviso, 18 Northern rep. voted for Missouri statehood which was enough for it to pass with the support of a solid South. In the Senate, all the compromise measures were voted on together as a package: the South voted 20 to 2 in favor; the North, 18 to 4