In a response letter to John Holmes in April 1820 concerning the Missouri question, Thomas Jefferson wrote:This momentous question, like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror. I considered it at once as the [death] knell of the Union . . . but this is a reprieve only, not a final sentence. A geographical line, coinciding with a marked principle, moral and political, once conceived and held up to the angry passions of men, will never be obliterated; and every new irritation will mark it deeper and deeper . . . the cession of that kind of property, ..... would not cost me in a second thought, if ..... a general emancipation ..... could be effected ..... but, as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other Why did Jefferson believe that the passage of the Missouri Compromise would deepen sectional conflict?

THE MONROE DOCTRINE

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Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]

In a response letter to John Holmes in April 1820 concerning the Missouri question, Thomas Jefferson wrote:This momentous question, like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror. I considered it at once as the [death] knell of the Union . . . but this is a reprieve only, not a final sentence. A geographical line, coinciding with a marked principle, moral and political, once conceived and held up to the angry passions of men, will never be obliterated; and every new irritation will mark it deeper and deeper . . . the cession of that kind of property, ____ would not cost me in a second thought, if ____ a general emancipation ____ could be effected ____ but, as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other Why did Jefferson believe that the passage of the Missouri Compromise would deepen sectional conflict?

A	Each enactment by Congress that took power away from the states would have built more resentment.
B	While some wanted slavery to end immediately, others wanted it to end gradually.
C	Americans would have argued forever over the line, once it was created.
D	Adding new states would have recreated the competition.

Explanation:

Detailed explanation-1: -In this foreboding letter, former president Thomas Jefferson warned Representative John Holmes that the alarming issue of slavery could not be staved off forever. In words foreshadowing the Civil War, Jefferson predicted the issue once loosed would ignite the nation in violence and destruction. …

Detailed explanation-2: -Still active in politics, Thomas Jefferson strongly opposed the attempt to keep slavery out of Missouri.

Detailed explanation-3: -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-4: -The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was a law that tried to address growing sectional tensions over the issue of slavery. By passing the law, which President James Monroe signed, the U.S. Congress admitted Missouri to the Union as a state that allowed slavery, and Maine as a free state.

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USA HISTORY

THE VIRGINIA DYNASTY 1801 1825

THE MONROE DOCTRINE