Missouri Compromise

Why was the Missouri Compromise proposed and why was it necessary? Who Proposed it ?

It was proposed to keep an equal balance of slave and non slave states. If it wasn't proposed there was a good chance there could have been a civil war between the Northern and Southern states over slavery. Henry clay, a skillful Kentucky politician, was highly responsible for getting this compromise accepted by congress.

​

What was the Missouri Compromise supposed to address?

It was an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states. It was also supposed to address what new states would have to do in order to become an official state.

​

What were the terms of the Missouri Compromise? How did the compromise attempt to resolve conflicts over the expansion of slavery?

All new states south of the 36 30' latitude are slave states and everything above that are going to be free states. If new states wanted to enter the union they would have to do it in pairs ( one slave state in the south and one free state in the north) so the balance would stay equal. Missouri enters as a slave state and Maine enters as a free state. This resolved the conflict of over expansion of slavery because there couldn't be any slaves in the north  they all had to be under that 36 30' latitude.

​

How long did it last and why did it ultimately fail?

It was passed on March 3, 1820 and was repealed in 1854 when Kansas ( a northern state ) allowed slaves. It ultimately failed because the North got more out of this compromise so the South got mad and there wasn't the peace like Henry Clay envisioned. It also didn't do anything with states that had slaves so there were still many slaves in the U.S.

​

​