Throughout American History, there were many events that completely changed the course of this country. From Columbus’s discovery of the New World, to the Revolutionary war, to the emancipation of slaves, Americans prospered and created a great nation that is now one of the greatest powers in the world. The Missouri Compromise was one that played a great role during the Antebellum, the period of time before the Civil War. With the passing of the compromise, disputes over slavery and the balance of the government between the free and slave states were settled. However, in an alternate sequence of history, had Congress not signed the compromise, history books in classrooms would be substantially different. Without the passing of the Missouri Compromise, the controversy between the North and the South would have escalated and led to a premature Civil War.
Congress passed the Missouri Compromise on April 2, 1820. The compromise decided that slavery was abolished north of latitude 36°30’, Missouri’s southern border, excluding Missouri and the unsettled parts of the Louisiana territory North and West of Missouri would also be considered free. Furthermore, it decided that the territory of Missouri was admitted as a slave state and the territory of Maine, which was previously a part of Massachusetts, admitted as a free state. Before it was passed in Congress, there were heated debates between the Northern and the Southern congressmen. The North, backed by James Tallmadge, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun, had strength in numbers compared to the South which was backed by Thomas Jefferson, Congressman William Cobb and other congressmen.
Missouri’s request of admittance as a slave state was not the sole cause of the passing of the Missouri Compromise. Although there were many causes, one cannot agree that there was just one major cause. Many events before the compromise built up to this agreement. It can be traced back all the way to the settlement of Jamestown, where slaves were not as abundant as in the 1800s, but still widespread. Also, because the thirteen colonies were under British rule, they had access to many of Britain’s resources, one of which was slaves from Africa. So, it can be said that the colonization of the thirteen colonies was another major event that eventually led to the Missouri Compromise.
When the Americans won the revolutionary war, it was time to draft a Constitution. This constitution became the longest standing written government in history. But, it also had a major ambiguity that led to a war that took the greatest number of lives of American soldiers at the time. Thomas Jefferson and the founding fathers started off the constitution, the law of the land, with the words “We the people.” But in fact, “the people” were an exclusive group of just white, property-holding males. The poor white males, the females and especially the African Americans were overlooked in the first 10 amendments of America. This vagueness not only led to more confusion which eventually resulted in a civil war, but also led to suffrage movements from the minority and women in the future.
In 1800, Gabriel Prosser, an enslaved African American blacksmith, attempted to organize a slave revolt involving over a thousand slaves from Virginia. But, on the day of the revolt, there was a hurricane that damaged bridges and submerged streets and so this delayed the slaves. Because of this, word got out about the slaves’ plans and stopped what could have been a bold move to possibly put an end to slavery. Had this been accomplished, the history of this great Nation would not have been the same. But, because it failed, Virginia made stricter rules not just against slaves, but also for all African Americans. This would also add to the list of factors the indirectly led to the Missouri Compromise.
A major part of the compromise involved the Louisiana territory. President Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe were successful in getting the 870,000 square mile Louisiana territory from Napoleon Bonaparte and the French. This doubled the size of America and allowed for Westward Expansion. This was an important signing in that without the purchase of the Louisiana territory, the North would not have had an incentive to agree to the compromise
Although tensions between the slave and frees states were coming to a boiling point, the need for this compromise arose when Missouri requested admittance into the Union as a slave state. This would upset the already not so stable balance of slave and free states in congress. With an equal number of states, the number of Southern senators in the Senate was equal to the number of Northern senators. But, because of the North’s larger population, it had a much higher number of representatives in the House than the South. Since both branches were not dominated by just one party, congress’s decisions were not as polarized had the Senate been dominated by the South.