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Missouri compromise causes and effects
Missouri compromise causes and effects
Missouri compromise causes and effects
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It can be argued that the Missouri Compromise not only put off the start of the Civil War, but was also a cause. Many contributing factors led up to the Civil War in the years following the passing after the Missouri Compromise. Years after the Missouri Compromise went into effect, Congress passed the Tariff Act of 1833, sometimes called the Compromise Tariff. This was proposed by Henry Clay, and called for the gradual reduction of tariffs, ending the Nullification Crisis. In 1846, United States’ President James Polk requested 2 million dollars to purchase land from Mexico following the Mexican-American War.
To start, the Missouri Compromise led to many disputes and eventually veered the nation towards the civil war. In essence, this compromise put a boarder at a 36*30 latitude that would separate the free and slave states. The slave states would be below
The Missouri Compromise was a significant turning point in United States history, it lead to many discussions on slaves civil rights, the Dred Scott decision, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In a sense, the Missouri Compromise impaired the unity of the United States and was the original fuel for the civil war. As states were expanding westward after the Louisiana Purchase, so was the debate of slavery. The North did not rely on slavery because it was unprofitable after the American Revolution.
Although in the Missouri Compromise, Missouri became a slave state and Maine became a free state, it was an example of disunity. All new states north of the Mason-Dixon Line would be free and new states southward would be slave states. As a result, there was also an unbalanced sectional population between the North and South. (Doc. E & F).
However, at that time, there was a perfect balance between free and slave states in Congress. Admitting Missouri would essentially hand all the power to the south. In order to settle both parties’ desires the Missouri Compromise was drawn. It admitted Missouri as a slave state, and simultaneously admitted Maine as a free state to preserve the balance in Congress.
Texas was added to the United States after a war with Mexico. This questions whether Texas would be added as a slave state or not. Further west California was a troubling state as it fell above and below the line in the Missouri compromise. The Missouri Compromise was created so that these issues would be solved in a way that would benefit both the North and South, but primarily helped the North. The compromise states that there would be a line at a certain latitude in the United States that would be a “Border” between Slave states and non-slaves states.
The issue of slavery was a significant “thorn in the side” of America from the very inception of our nation. Despite the fact that slavery was an accepted legal phenomenon in the eighteenth century, it also invoked significant controversy. Many Americans, typically those denizens of the southern states, felt that slavery was an indispensable economic necessity. Alternatively, others opined that slavery was an inherently immoral and unethical institution which denied certain races basic human rights, and as such warranted abolition, no matter the consequences. Although the Constitution never mentions the word “slave” once, slavery is referenced to in the Constitution several times, in three prominent compromises that our founding fathers were forced to make, for the sake of the establishment of a unified nation.
The Missouri Compromise was a rule that regulated slavery in the southern states. America did this to even out the Non-Slave states and the Slavery states. This compromise was made in 1820 by Henry Clay. Henry Clay was a lawyer and a politician that was very involved in the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
The issue the compromise was about was whether there should be slavery in the western territories. Maine wanted to be added to the Union, however, slavery was banned there. If Maine were to be added to the Union, it would upset the balance between free and slave states in the nation and the Senate. So, the Missouri Compromise, proposed by Senator Henry Clay, allowed Maine to enter the Union as a free state, and allowed Missouri to be entered into the Union as a slave state.
This compromise caused loads of controversy because the Southern senators believed that the territories should be able to decide for themselves if they should allow slavery or not, like the original 13 states. The Southern senators thought the compromise was unconstitutional. On the other hand, the Northern senators argued that Congress actually had the right to say ban slavery in new states. I understand why the Missouri Compromise was created, but I believe that the compromise made the situation worse. To me it was unconstitutional of Congress to deny new states the right to decide if they should allow slavery or not.
Due to the fact that the South had more of an agricultural economy, the Southerners thought that the states should have the right to decide whether residents could own slaves, rather than the federal government. In 1846 a congressman from Pennsylvania named David Wilmot introduced a bill to the House of Representatives called the Wilmot Proviso. This said slavery would not be allowed in any western territory acquired from Mexico. Of course most of the politicians from the North loved the idea, while the politicians from the South did not. The Missouri Compromise on March 3, 1820 (also called the Compromise of 1820) was the first major legislative compromise that was passed to draw a line between slave and free territory.
The Missouri Compromise included the 36 30 line to split the slave states and the non-slave states(Missouri was- at the time- the only exception to this rule). Both sides were seemingly happy with the Missouri Compromise until the newly gained Mexican territory was added into the equation. The Great Compromise was made to settle which areas of land would allow slavery and had objections on both sides. New states such as California (which were extensive and split down the width of the country) did not become slave states, but it gave the Southern slave states a chance to be even more harsh towards their slaves and push against the North for more control. The Kansas-Nebraska Act favored the South over the North because the 36 30 line was erased to make room for popular sovereignty, giving the South the chance to influence the new states to become pro-slavery.
The Missouri Compromise was a federal statute that prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the 36° Parallel, except within the boundaries of Missouri. The federal government passed this law as an attempt to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, as many Northerners wanted to limit the expansion of slavery while Southerners thought the opposite. This again was a conflicting idea that politicians of the North and South battled over, further enhancing the rivalry amongst the two. This act was later replaced by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which opened up the Kansas and Nebraska territory to slavery and future admission of slave states by allowing white male settlers to determine the use of slavery in territories through Popular Sovereignty. This act undermined the prohibition on slavery in territory north of the 36° Parallel that was established by the Missouri Compromise.
Several compromises were made over the issue of slavery between the Three-Fifths Compromise in the Constitution and the Civil War. Most of these compromises were made in the hope of avoiding a civil war between the North and the South, but they just prolonged the inevitable battle. The Missouri Compromise was one of the first federal laws that focused solely on slavery, including the balance of slave and free states in the federal government. When Missouri applied for statehood in 1817, there was a balance in the Senate of 11 slave states and 11 free states. Debate broke out in Congress, owing to the fact that if Missouri was added as a free state or slave state, it would tip the balance towards that side with two more votes in the Senate.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was an attempt by Congress to ease some of the political rivalries between the North and the South (history.com 2009). The compromise stated the fact that all states up north would not have slavery and all states south would allow and continue the act of slavery (history.com 2009). It went both ways since it split the country up evenly between slave and free. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was handwritten by Henry Clay in 1820 (ancestralfindings.com 1995). On March 6th of 1820, President James Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise and made it the new law of the land (loc.gov 2017).
