Who:
Henry Clay of Kentucky (Speaker of House)-"the Great Compromiser" trying to settle slavery tensions between the North and South: who controls the new western territory? Slave or free?
Jesse Thomas of Illinois- thought of the amendment to the Missouri enabling act prohibiting extension of slavery into Louisiana Territory north of 36˚30'.
James Tallmadge of New York- introduced Tallmadge Amendment.
James Monroe--President during compromise
Jesse Thomas of Illinois- thought of the amendment to the Missouri enabling act prohibiting extension of slavery into Louisiana Territory north of 36˚30'.
James Tallmadge of New York- introduced Tallmadge Amendment.
James Monroe--President during compromise
What:
North upset: Missouri wants to be admitted as a slave state. It would be the first state west of the Mississippi and would set the precedent for future slave or free states there, and would most assuredly upset the numerical balance between free and slave states, which, at the time, was 11 to 11.
South upset : Tallmadge Amendment introduced in 1819, enabling an act in which introducing slaves into the Missouri territory was prohibited and mandated the emancipation of all slaves born in Missouri. The south felt this was unconstitutional and feared that unbalance in congress would lead to federal removal of slavery in all of America.
Compromise: Missouri is a slave state (pleased south), future bondage is prohibited to North of the 36˚30' of the Louisiana Purchase territory with the exception of Missouri, and Maine is admitted as a free state (pleased North).
South upset : Tallmadge Amendment introduced in 1819, enabling an act in which introducing slaves into the Missouri territory was prohibited and mandated the emancipation of all slaves born in Missouri. The south felt this was unconstitutional and feared that unbalance in congress would lead to federal removal of slavery in all of America.
Compromise: Missouri is a slave state (pleased south), future bondage is prohibited to North of the 36˚30' of the Louisiana Purchase territory with the exception of Missouri, and Maine is admitted as a free state (pleased North).
When:
In 1820, after the Louisiana Purchase made by President Jefferson in 1803 opening up a vast land of western territory. Many settlers were moving westward, and by 1819 balance in congress was equal (11 to 11). James Monroe was President at the time of Compromise.
Impact
- The compromise of 1820 kept the free and slave state ratio equal, and maintained the balance in congress.
- The compromise preserved the Union for now, secession and civil war was avoided; however, it proved that sectionalism was growing and most definitely would continue because the central question of whether congress had the right to prohibit slavery in the territories had not been resolved.
- The Missouri Compromise would essentially plague the nation, making it harder to compromise by 1850, controversial due to the Kansas-Nebraska act, and impossible by the time of civil war in 1860.
People like Thomas Jefferson already had a feeling that sectionalism would continue over slavery, possibly leading to disunion, and that the Missouri compromise was just a stepping stone to further problems in regards to slavery. Thus, the question of slavery would be avoided in years to come.