Missouri Compromise of 1820

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was an important compromise in the history of America. It played a significant role in the relationship between the North and the South in the time leading up to the American Civil War. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was a compromise primarily focused on how slavery would be dealt with in the expanding United States.

As new western territories were added to America, the question arose as to whether or not they would fall under the sway of the North, and thus, be considered anti-slavery, or if they would have legalized slavery as it did the American South. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 thus set out that slavery was utterly illegal above the 36th north parallel line with the exception being the State of Missouri, which had not actually been made a state yet, but had been proposed as a state at the time of the Compromise of 1820.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 actually came from a series of different bills and Amendments which were tied together into the single Compromise. The northern states were looking to admit Maine as a state into the Union, with Maine being an abolitionist state in which slavery would be illegal. Doing so would unbalance the equality of the two sides, however, as the North would then have more states than the South.

As such, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was designed to allow Missouri to be a slave state so that the two sides would remain equal. If you need legal advice and assistance, contact Missouri lawyers.

NEXT: Uncover the Facts Behind the Crittenden Compromise