4) 1820- Missouri Compromise Flashcards
How did most Ns feel about slavery atm?
- few felt the need to abolish it
- but didn’t agree to its expansion into Western territories
- people thought slavery would die out naturally anyway, but invention of the cotton gin revived it
When did Missouri apply for statehood?
- first in 1817, but 1819 was when Congress bagan to consider its entry into the Union/ consider enabling acts to allow it to create a state const.
- it qualified for statehood!!
- but now concerns that it will sway the balance of the union- will mean 11 free states vs 12 slave states
What was the Tallmadge amendment?
- submitted 1819 when Missouri applied to join by JAMES TALLMADGE from New York
- called for a BAN on anymore slaves entering Missouri- prohibiting slavery
- would begin GRADUAL EMANCIPATION- stating any children born to slaves shall be born free
How was the Tallmadge agreement received?
- not acceptable to slave-holding Missourians or South so was DEFEATED in the Senate
- South was concerned that w the agreement, N might use its populous advantage in HoR esp to limit or abolish slavery in the South + expanding territories
- debate became very bitter
How did the South feel about the makeup of gov?
- N more populous and wealthy, so holds more rep in HoR
- a more even balance is in the Senate
- So S determined to maintain the free/slave balance in the Senate- a COUNTERWEIGHT to N’s dominance in HoR
- in 1819- 11free, 11slave
How did the Missouri comp preserve balance in the Senate?
MISSOURI- would be admitted as a slave state
MAINE- a free-soil area that had been part of Massachuchettes would be admitted as a seperate free state
so Senate = 12v12
How would the Missouri comp impact future territories’ creations?
- slavery would NOT be permitted in the future in any territories created outside of the LOUISIANA PURCHASE, North of the line of latitude 36
30, the Southern boundary of Missouri
When was the Missouri comp passed?
1820
How did Western expansion impact race problems outside of slavery?
- contradictions in the expansion of white male voting rights- new Western states wanted more inclusive voting rights for them
- but their development also devastated native american communities
- native american rights rarelyy considered an imp/ public issue
- northern/ southern opinions on slavery far more dividing/ sharper
How had slavery been an issue much earlier on?
- balancing free/ slave state interests had been important since the start of governance/ the Constitutional Convention in 1787
- the compromise that sacrificed the rights of africam americans in persuit of a stronger union
- ^became salient issue again w the incorporation of new western territories- esp when Missouri petitioned to join as a slave state
What was an arguement of slavery defenders politically?
- relied on a principle of FAIRNESS
- If Congress controlled decision of whether Missouri could choose whether to have slavery, it meant new states would have fewer rights than the original ones
- (because N said congress should decide to abolish it in Missouri/ S said states should get to decide)
What other state pair was thought to happen?
- though Michigan & Florida would probably cancel eachother out
Who played a crucial role in comp?
- henry clay!
How impactful was the comp?
- both sides saw it as deeply flawed
- but it lasted over 30 years
- unti the kansas-nebraska act of 1854 determined that new states north of the boundary deserved to be able to excersie their soverignity regarding slavery as they wished
How did the compromise create SECTIONALISM?
- iidea of N & S, free states and slave states
- up until this point, America has been growing on an impromptu basis w no big disputes- Missouri problem is when sides solidly form
- so it roused a v problematic area of american politics that would explode into conflict/ civil war
- Thomas Jefforson - ‘ I considered it at once the knell of the union’
