The Missouri Compromise and events leading up to the Civil War were based mainly on slavery and the two conflicting viewpoints of the American people. The compromises involving slavery were only short-term solutions for a very long-term problem. The Civil War changed the foundation of America forever. The war was inevitable, and thus, the contrasting views between the North and the South were bound to break out into warfare at some point. In February of 1819, Missouri applied for statehood in the United States. Because of the North’s consistent increase in population, it took the upper hand in national politics in the House of Representatives. Before the North began increasing its population in substantial numbers, the southern states had had the upper hand in Congress, in part because of the Three-Fifths Compromise, which gave them more representation in the House of Representatives, due to their slave population. At the time, the Senate was divided in national politics, because eleven states were free states, and eleven states were slave states ("The Civil War in Missouri"). The Massachusetts’ District of Maine had also applied for statehood around the same time that Missouri did. The North realized that if Maine became a free state in the North, the political power in the House of Senate and overall Congress would be tipped towards favoring the North and their anti-slavery ideals. Because of this, the southern states had to block Maine’s admission into the United States
Before the Civil War, the issue of slavery and the tensions between the North and the South was evident in America. In order for there to be a balance between the Northern and Southern representatives in the Senate, there would have to be an equal number of slave and free states within the country. In 1820, Missouri wanted to enter as a state, so the Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri to be admitted as a slave state, while Maine was to be admitted as a free state (Document 1A). It also said that no future slave state would be allowed above the 36° 30’ line. It was believed that this compromise would solve the sectional tensions, however, politicians continued to debate on the issue, which further led to a greater divide between the North
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was intended to solve the issue of slavery and create peace within the union. However, as seen in the following documents, all the Missouri Compromise did was push the issue down the road. Document A, Andrew Jackson expresses great concern about the possible consequences of the Missouri Compromise. Jackson claims that the controversy on this issue will not only divide the nation but also encourage violence and uprisings. He accuses the Eastern interests of placing their own power and political ascent above the good of the nation as a whole and foreshadowing the growing hostility between different regions.
During the 19th century the South and the North began to debate within each other as slavery was starting to become a national issue. The South was unified following the institution of slavery as it was vital to their economic success and the North was anti-slavery. The Civil War was inevitable becoming the climax to a growing tension between both the South and North in the act of failed Compromises and differences. The Missouri Compromise, The Act of 1850, and The Kansas-Nebraska Act hold large responsibility as causes for the Civil War considering none completely stopped the war and were merely postponed it.
The main cause of the Compromise of 1820 was Missouri applying to become a state because it would upset the balance of votes each state had in Congress. The three-fifths clause states the entire state free population and sixty percent of its enslaved population will count for the number of Representatives they are allowed to have (Week 6, Chapter 11. pg 308). Consequently, politicians from the northern states disagreed with the clause because Missouri being a slave state would give the South an advantage with votes in the House. On the other hand, the same time Maine also wanted to apply for statehood as a free state it’s vote was being blocked by pro-slavery politicians. The combination of the two states applying for statehood and the eventual
Cause: The south were stronger than the North, catching up the Missouri Compromise. With North having more white people than the South, there were more positions in Congress for the South. Agents in Congress was dictated by populace, and on the grounds that slaves considered 3/5ths of a man, the South at last had a bigger populace thusly more representation. The North made up a large portion of the white populace but since of absence of slaves, they were dwarfed enormously. At the point when Missouri connected for statehood, the North felt debilitated by the plenitude of bondage starting to appear. The region allowed subjection, and in the event that they were acknowledged as a state, the South would have the high ground. Congressmen contended
Western expansion soon led to conflict when Missouri requested statehood. At the time slave states in the South and free states in the North were politically balanced at eleven states each. Missouri’s admission as a slave state would upset the delicate balance of power, giving slave states the majority in congress. This upset Northerners who had grown increasingly opposed to the institution of slavery. The Missouri compromise was made in 1820 to prevent further conflict. In this compromise, Missouri would be admitted to the union as a slave state and Maine would be admitted as a free state.
The Missouri Compromise was an effort by Congress to keep the delicate balance between the slave and free states that would have been upset by the addition of Missouri as a slave state. After a tedious back and forth between the free and slave states, Henry Clay, speaker of the house at the time, orchestrated the missouri compromise in March 1820. The compromise stated that congress would not restrict the admission of Missouri as a slave state but as a result Maine would be added as a free state. Northerners also wanted a prohibition of slavery in the remaining territory of the louisiana purchase north of 36° 30´ latitude line. The compromise was important because it put off the dreaded debate of slavery, albeit not for long. The compromise
The Missouri Compromise, written by Henry Clay, attempted to limit the slavery boundaries; it was later declared unconstitutional and is also considered one of many events that led to the American Civil War. The compromise became a precedent for settling subsequent North and South disagreements over slavery and duty issues, and it remained in effect until rescinded by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The Missouri Compromise eased tensions between the North and the South delaying the civil war The American Civil War. However, it is also considered one of the causes of the civil war because it increased the division of beliefs between the North and SouthThus, the Missouri compromise played an important role in the
In 1819, two more states wishing to join the union, were Missouri and Maine. Missouri wanted to join the union in the in the north, but as a slave state. this would make the balance of power in congress unequal. Many northerners opposed this idea. Northerners proposed that Missouri be a slave state and that no more slaves were to be brought in, and all slave children would be free at age 25. Eventually Missouri would be a free state. Southerners were opposed to this idea. Congress debated for months. This brought about the Missouri Compromise of 1820, when Henry Clay proposed that Maine enter the union as a free state. He also proposed prohibiting slavery above the 36’30’ latitude, which is the southern boundary of Missouri. Since plantations would not be able to survive further north of this line, the South agreed.
The Missouri Compromise was a temporary solution to the issue of slavery and territorial rights such as the movement West. Two areas of land wanted to become states in 1820, known as Maine and Missouri. Maine wanted to enter as a free state with no slavery as everyone in that area was against it and wanted it abolished. Missouri wanted to enter as a slave state and was all for slavery and wanted it to be spread all throughout the country. The compromise everyone came into conclusion with, was that there would be no slavery allowed north of 36° 30’ latitude. This angered the Southerners because their intention was to promote slavery not have it abolished. They realized that this compromise threatened the balance between free and slave states; Maine and Missouri. In order to expand slavery, the South felt that the United States would need territory from Mexico. The only area of land left was in Arkansas and that line became known as the Missouri Compromise line. The impact that the Missouri Compromise had on the United States was tremendous and had many effects on issues such as national politics, the institution of slavery, and the overall togetherness of the nation as a whole.
After the Missouri Compromise was made, more conflict arose. New territories were beginning to fight over the issue of slavery. These territories included Texas, New Mexico, and California. After James Polk became president he annexed Texas, and it became a state. This was a cause of the Civil War because it caused was the war with Mexico, which as a result led to the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise of 1850 made Northerners help catch runaway slaves. The South loved it, but the North hated it. Once again the North and South were spreading apart.
There were many events that had lead up to the breakout of the Civil War that followed the Missouri compromise. It was a result from all of these event combined that lead to secession of the states of the deep south and the beginning of the Civil War.
Southerners believes that if the United States could forbid slavery in Missouri, they could do so elsewhere. It 1820 congress finally agreed that slavery would be allowed in Missouri, but at the same time Maine would be carved out and admitted to the union as a free state. They also agreed that as the United States Expanded westward, states north of the 36 and a half degrees North would be free states, while states south of that would be slave states. This angered the north because under the compromise the new slave states covered more land than that of the new free states. Northerners worried that another slave state might increase the power of the southern states in the government.
At the time, the United States contained twenty-two states, evenly divided between slave and free. In the years leading up to the Missouri Compromise of 1820, tensions began to rise between proslavery and antislavery 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. To keep the peace, Congress came up with a two-part compromise, granting Missouri’s request but also admitting Maine as a free state. It also passed an amendment that drew an imaginary line across the former Louisiana Territory, establishing a boundary between free and slave regions that remained the law of the land until it was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
The Missouri Compromise stated Missouri would be a slave state and Maine would be carved out of Massachusetts and created into a non-slave state. The Missouri Compromise really angered the North, contributing to the Civil War.