Missouri Compromise Day
March 3, Monday
Missouri
Background
In the early 19th century, the United States was rapidly expanding its territory. The issue of slavery was becoming increasingly controversial, especially with the admission of new states into the Union. In 1819, the Missouri Territory applied for statehood as a slave state, sparking debates between supporters and opponents of slavery.
Main Provisions of the Compromise
Admission of Missouri as a slave state into the United States.
Admission of Maine as a free state to maintain the balance between slave and free states.
Prohibition of the expansion of slavery into new territories north of the 36°30' latitude (except for Missouri).
Consequences
The compromise temporarily eased tensions between the North and the South but did not resolve the issue of slavery.
This agreement was one of the first significant steps in a series of legislative measures aimed at managing the conflict between slave and free states.
In 1854, it was effectively repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which intensified the political crisis in the United States.
Later, in 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Dred Scott case that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, further undermining the legitimacy of the Missouri Compromise.
The Missouri Compromise was an important attempt to balance the interests of the Northern and Southern states. However, it only temporarily postponed an inevitable conflict, which, a few decades later, culminated in the American Civil War.