Question

Explain how the Missouri Compromise tried to solve the slavery problem in new states. Write your answer in 3-4 sentences.

Answer 1

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 tried to ease sectional conflict by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, preserving the Senate balance between slave and free states. It also drew a geographic line at latitude 36°30′ across the rest of the Louisiana Purchase, declaring slavery prohibited north of that line (except in Missouri). The measure was a temporary political compromise intended to reduce tensions over the expansion of slavery into new states.