Missouri Compromise (1820)
"A Firebell in the night"
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The Missouri Compromise was an agreement devised by Henry Clay that was passed in 1820 between pro-slavery and anti-slavery members in the United States Congress, involving the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30′ parallel north except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri. Missouri was admitted as slave and Maine was added as a free state to keep the balance in congress equal. Southerners, such as John C. Calhoun, argued that the federal government had no right to outlaw something in an American territory that is legal in American states. Thomas Jefferson coined the phrase "Firebell in the Night" because he felt that this compromise would divide the country on the issue of slavery; which it did.
Main Ideas:
- Made by Henry Clay to figure out how to divide the western states into slave and non-slave territories
- Prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36'30 parallel
- Didn't include Missouri
- Missouri was a slave state, Maine was free to balance political powers
- Southerners (backed by people like John C. Calhoun) said the gov. couldn't outlaw something in U.S. territories that was legal in U.S. states
- Thomas Jefferson thought it would end up dividing the country over the issue of slavery