THE VIRGINIA DYNASTY 1801 1825
MISSOURI COMPROMISE OF 1820
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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to let the people vote to be a slave or free state
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to maintain the balance of slave states vs. free states
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to add states as part of the United States
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to make sure people understood the idea of popular sovereignty
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Detailed explanation-1: -This legislation admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a non-slave state at the same time, so as not to upset the balance between slave and free states in the nation. It also outlawed slavery above the 36º 30’ latitude line in the remainder of the Louisiana Territory .
Detailed explanation-2: -There were 11 free states and 11 slave states. This is significant because there was an equal number of free and slave states. This balance of states was important, as one extra state-slave or free-would tip the balance of power in the U.S. government.
Detailed explanation-3: -In February 1820, the Senate added a second part to the joint statehood bill: With the exception of Missouri, slavery would be banned in all of the former Louisiana Purchase lands north of the 36º 30’ latitude, which ran along Missouri’s southern border.
Detailed explanation-4: -Why was the Missouri Compromise so important to the Senate? It maintained a delicate balance between free and slave states. On the single most divisive issue of the day, the U.S. Senate was equally divided. If the slavery question could be settled politically, any such settlement would have to happen in the Senate.
Detailed explanation-5: -The Missouri Compromise was accepted because it: 1) maintained congressional balance in the Senate, 2) allowed for certain new territories to be slave states, and 3) allowed certain new territories to be non-slavery states.