Tell me about the Missouri Compromise?

Question

Make it simple

Answer 1

In an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820 admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Furthermore, with the exception of Missouri, this law prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36° 30´ latitude line. In 1854, the Missouri Compromise was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Three years later the Missouri Compromise was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories.

Answer 2

The Missouri Comprimise was a comprimise between slave states and free states saying that Missouri became a slave state when Maine became a free state in 1820. After this point, no more slave states could be carved out of what was formerly the Louisiana territory with a southern boundary north of Missouri's northern boundary of 36°30'.

Answer 3

1820, MO wanted to come into the Union as a slave state, but this would upset the balance, so Maine was allowed to come in as a free state. In addition, a line was drawn across the southern border of MO and that stated that states above this line would henceforth be free and those below it would be open for slavery. That worked fine until two things happened, the USA fought the war with Mexico, potentially giving all of Mexico to the slave states, and California wanted to come in, and it was half above and half below the MO Compromise line (it wanted to be a free state). This Compromise lasted and was the law of the land until 1850, when a new compromise had to be reached.

Answer 4

An important addendum to the above.

Because the population of the free states was always much greater than that of slave states, the House of Representatives regularly passed anti-slavery legislation.

It never passed the Senate, however, so long as there were equal numbers of slave & free states, because every state was entitled to two Senators.

Answer 5

Every new territory made a state above the line was free and below the line was slave. The slave states stayed slave, and the free states were free. It didn't work because there were people above the line who wanted to own slaves, and the line was thought to be too low and therefore biased to the free states.

Answer 6

Missouri, the show me state