Missouri Compromise
Jacob Olson and Shaneia Anderson
History of the Americas 4B
8 September 2014
Prelude to Compromise
● 1803: We bought France! (or at least part of it)
● 1819: Missouri applies for statehood
○ Slave or not to slave
○ Balance of power in congress
○ Sectionalism increases
○ Tallmadge Amendment
Influential Politicians
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Henry Clay:
○ Henry Clay was known as “The Great Compromiser” (or “Great Nullifier”)
○ appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1806
○ elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1811
P.S. He really liked horses
○ eventually became the Speaker of the House
Jesse B Thomas:
○ added an amendment banning slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase,
set up at 36° 30’ which was the southern border
○ Illinois Senator
James Tallmadge
○ proposal
The Compromise
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It had three main provisions
“SEC. 8. And be it further enacted. That in all that territory ceded by France
to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies north of
thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north latitude, not included within the
limits of the state, contemplated by this act, slavery and involuntary
servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the parties
shall have been duly convicted, shall be, and is hereby, forever prohibited:
Provided always, That any person escaping from slavery...may be lawfully
reclaimed and conveyed back to the person (slave owner)..”
Two Bills: Maine becoming a free state and the Thomas Amendment
Missouri became the 24th state on August 10, 1821
President James Monroe passed it
Northern Exposure
● Liked:
○ Limited slavery
○ Maintained balance of power
○ Showed Congress could change slavery laws*
● Disliked:
○ condoned slavery expansion
○ allowed slavery to expand
*eventually would change
The Southern View
● Liked
○ Access to good farmland
● Disliked:
○ Large area where slavery was restricted
○ Believed it would restrict state rights
Downfall
● Compromise of 1850
○ Conflicted with the compromise
● Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
○ Replaced the Missouri Compromise
● Dred Scott Case (1857)
○ declared unconstitutional
Effects of the Compromise
● Western expansion increases
● Rising tension between Northern and
Southern states
● 24 states total and equal amount of slave
and free states
Works Cited
Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2014.
"Clay, Henry." Clay, Henry. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2014.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Missouri Compromise (United States [1820])." Britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.
Web. 04 Sept. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/385744/Missouri-Compromise>.
"Henry Clay." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2014.
"The Missouri Compromise." About. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2014.
"Missouri Compromise." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.history.com/topics/missouri-compromise>.
"Missouri Compromise." Historynet.com. Weider History Network, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.historynet.com/missouri-compromise>.
"The Missouri Compromise." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.ushistory.org/us/23c.asp>.
"The Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850." The Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. N.p., n.d. Web. 08
Sept. 2014.
Searles, Harry. "Missouri Compromise (March 6, 1820)." Missouri Compromise 1820. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2014.