ID: Missouri Compromise]]
When: March 1820
Who:
- Proposed by: Henry Clay (Speaker of the House)
- Key Figures:
- Pro-Compromise: Henry Clay, Jesse B. Thomas
- Anti-Slavery: James Tallmadge Jr.
- Pro-Slavery: John Taylor of Caroline
What:
A series of laws enacted by Congress to address the issue of slavery in new territories following Missouri’s application for statehood as a slave state. The main components were:
- Missouri admitted as a slave state.
- Maine admitted as a free state (previously part of Massachusetts) to maintain balance in the Senate.
- The 36°30′ parallel: Slavery prohibited in the Louisiana Purchase territory north of this line, except for Missouri.
Impact? Why Significant?:
- Temporary solution: The Compromise temporarily defused the sectional crisis over slavery but ultimately failed to resolve the underlying tensions.
- Precedent for sectionalism : It established a pattern of sectional compromises that characterized the antebellum period.
- Strengthened abolitionist movement: The debate surrounding the compromise fueled the growth of the abolitionist movement in the North.
- Foreshadowed future conflict: The Missouri Compromise served as a precursor to the more significant crises over slavery that would culminate in the Civil War.