21 The Missouri Compromise

Missouri Compromise of 1820

An agreement that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance of power between slave and free states.

36°30′ line

An imaginary line drawn across the Louisiana Purchase, north of which slavery was banned (except in Missouri) and south of which slavery was permitted.

Henry Clay

Representative from Kentucky who crafted the Missouri Compromise.

Secession

The act of withdrawing formally from membership in a federation or body, especially a political state.

Thomas Cobb

A congressman from Georgia who warned that the Union would be dissolved if the Tallmadge Amendment was supported.

Tallmadge Amendment

A proposal that aimed to restrict slavery in Missouri, which sparked intense debate in Congress.

Civil War

A conflict between citizens of the same country; in this context, it refers to the potential conflict over the issue of slavery.

Reaction to Missouri Compromise

The compromise pleased few; Northerners felt traitorous for agreeing to slavery, and Southerners disliked the ban on slavery in new territories.

John Quincy Adams

The Secretary of State who recognized that the compromise did not settle the future of slavery in the United States.

Balance of Power

The distribution of political and military power among states to prevent any one entity from becoming too powerful.