USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -This time, Speaker of the House Henry Clay proposed that Congress admit Missouri to the Union as a state that allowed slavery, but at the same time admit Maine (which at the time was part of Massachusetts) as a free state .

Detailed explanation-2: -Ironically, it was the astute maneuvering of Speaker Henry Clay that helped bring about this new era of Senate debate, creating a legislative forum in which Senator Henry Clay would soon forge other Union-saving compromises.

Detailed explanation-3: -Henry Clay then skillfully led the forces of compromise, engineering separate votes on the controversial measures. On March 3, 1820, the decisive votes in the House admitted Maine as a free state, Missouri as a slave state, and made free soil all western territories north of Missouri’s southern border.

Detailed explanation-4: -In an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820 admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

Detailed explanation-5: -Clay’s proposal would admit California to the Union as a free state and organize New Mexico and Utah as territories without any restrictions on slavery. Other provisions in Clay’s compromise included a more effective fugitive slave law and the abolition of the slave trade in Washington, D.C.