Question

“[The Missouri Compromise] 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.” —Thomas Jefferson, 1820.
Which of the following best analyzes Jefferson’s perspective on the Missouri Compromise’s impact on sectionalism?
A. Jefferson believed that the Missouri Compromise would ultimately end the institution of slavery and end sectionalism.
B. According to Jefferson, the Missouri Compromise was good for Missouri, but bad for the United States.
C. Because Jefferson had not been involved in the Missouri Compromise, he did not think it was a good thing.
D. Jefferson thought that the decision to allow slavery in some places but not in others would only continue to cause division.

Answer 1

D. Jefferson's language — “fire bell in the night” and “death knell of the Union” — shows he feared the Compromise’s splitting of free and slave territory would deepen sectional divisions and threaten the Union.