People and Events in African-American
History
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise
The "Era of Good Feelings" was what they called it-the time
when the Federalists were no longer a major factor in elections
and before the Republicans divided between the John Q. Adams
.and Jackson factions:-The victory at New Orleans had made up
for earlier failures in the War of 1812, and national spirit was running high. President James Monroe won the election of 1816 by a
183-34 margin in electoral votes, and in 1820, the Federalists were
so weak they could not even carry a single state in New England.
But ifthe nation was unified, it was only on the surface. Northern
and southern Republicans disagreed on issues like the tariff, federal
( funding of roads and canals (so-called "internal improvements"),
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and slavery. Many national leaders wanted to succeed Monroe
and were trying to get a political edge. Federalists were hoping that if the right issue came along, the Republicans
would split, and the Federalists could regain power.
In 1819, a bill to make Missouri a state came before Congress. The French and Spanish had brought slaves into
Missouri before it became part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Other slave states had been admitted recently
(Mississippi in 1817, Alabama in 1819) with little debate, but suddenly slavery became a major issue. Arguments
began when Representative James Tallmadge of New York offered an amendment to the Missouri Bill that would
prohibit new slaves from entering Missouri, and children born of slaves after Missouri's admission would be freed
at the age of 25. Tallmadge was Republican, but most supporters of his amendment were Federalists. The Senate,
after much debate, removed Tallmadge's limit.
The votes on Tallmadge's proposal were strictly sectional; all votes in favor were cast by northerners, all opposed were by southerners. Jefferson feared the vote was "like a fire bell in the night"-awakening
him and filling
him with terror.
Senator Jesse Thomas ofIllinois proposed a solution that became known as the Missouri Compromise. Missouri
would enter the Union as a slave state; Maine as a free state. Territory in the Louisiana Purchase south of 36° 30'
(the southern boundary of Missouri) would be open to slavery, and territories north of the line would be closed to
slavery.
The ink was hardly dry on the agreement when a new issue came up. Missouri wanted to keep free AfricanAmericans from entering the state. This seemed to go against the Constitution's guarantee that "Citizens of each
State shall be entitled to all the Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States." Henry Clay worked
out a compromise prohibiting Missouri from barring citizens of other states, but he did not define whether a free
African-American was a citizen.
RESULTS: Southerners felt that abolitionists were enlisting other northerners to destroy slavery. They felt
they must defend slavery as a state's right under the Constitution.
© Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers
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People and Events in African-American
History
The Missouri Compromise
Nrune:----------------
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Date:
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The Missouri Compromise: Reinforcement
Directions: Complete the following activities, essays, and challenges on your own paper.
ACTIVITIES:
1.
2.
Examine a map and ask which states could be carved out of the territory south of 36° 30'.
Stage a discussion between a northern and southern member of Congress at the time of the Missouri Compromise debate.
ESSAYS:
,1.
2.
3.
As a member of Congress from the South, why would you have opposed the Tallmadge Amendment to the
Missouri Bill?
As an abolitionist, why would you have supported the Tallmadge Amendment?
Which side (North or South) made the better deal in agreeing to the Missouri Compromise?
CHALLENGES:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Who was president during the "Era of Good Feelings"?
What were some issues splitting Republicans?
What other nations had brought slaves into Missouri before the Louisiana Purchase?
Who proposed that no more slaves be brought into Missouri?
What party most actively supported the Tallmadge Amendment?
Who removed the Tallmadge Amendment from the Missouri Bill?
What territories in the Louisiana Purchase were opened to slavery by the Missouri Compromise?
What other state entered the Union because of the Missouri Compromise?
What group did Missouri want to keep from entering the state?
What compromise did Clay work out that made it possible to admit Missouri as a state?
NATIONAL STANDARDS CORRELATIONS:
NCSS VIc: (power, Authority, & Governance) Analyze and explain ideas and governmental mechanisms to meet
needs and wants of citizens, regulate territory, manage conflict, and establish order and security.
NSH Era 4, Standard 3: The extension, restriction, and reorganization of political democracy after 1800
WEBSITES:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocslMissouri.html
"Missouri Compromise," The Library of Congress
http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc. php ?fl.ash=true&doc=22
"Missouri Compromise (1820)," The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
http://www.digitalhistory. uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm ?HHID=57 4
"The Era of Good Feelings: The Growth of Political Factionalism and Sectionalism," Digital History
© Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers
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