Chapter 12
Notes
By: Christina Haskins
Why the explosive expansion?
People were moving to the west for a
numerous amount of reasons.
 There was a lot of cheap land
 The land in the South was basically
worked to death, so farmers
needed new land to plant more
crops and the West was the ideal
place to invest in.
 Jefferson’s embargo had caused
and economical stir, so people
were also looking for a place with
in a better economical state than
in the North and South.
 There were no longer Indian
problems in some areas in the West
because the military, led by
General Andrew Jackson, had
eradicated them.
 The invention of the steamboat
and highways brought in
merchants looking for a way to
earn more money also.
The West in Politics
Even though many people were moving into the West, the
population was still weak compared to the East. Because
of the small population, the West didn’t really have a
voice in the Union’s politics. It started to ally with parts of
the North and South so theirs wants and opinions could be
heard.
Some examples of their wants are:
 Their own affordable money and they fought the
National Bank in order to attain their own “wildcat
banks”.
 Their own form of cheap transportation, which they
eventually retained.
 They wanted really cheap land. They eventually
snagged the acreage for about $1.25 per acre.
Racial Divide Caused by Politics
Nine states had been added to the Union between the
years of 1791-1819. In order to preserve the balance
between the North and South, a state was either
submitted into the republic as a free or slave state.
Missouri’s “So-Called” Dilemma
 Missouri
was the first piece of land entirely east of
the Mississippi River to be created from the recently
acquired land, the Louisiana Purchase. It wanted to
enter the Union as a slave state.
 The House of Representatives didn’t want thought
to occur, so they passed the Tallmadge
amendment.
 This amendment stated that slaves could no longer
be brought into Missouri and also granted any child
born to slave parents are immediately granted
freedom in Missouri.
Who Was Upset and Why
An uproar broke out between almost everyone.
 Southern slaveholders were upset because they thought
that the House being unfair. The North and South were
equal, having 11 states each, but by making Missouri a
free state that would unbalance the Union making the
North dominant. They also thought that if Congress
could abolish the balance then they could make the
original Southern states free as well.
 Pioneers were upset already from the expansion of the
West, so this was just an excuse to stop the expansion.
 The North, mainly the Federalists in this area, even got in
on the act because they wanted to end the “Virginia
dynasty” once and for all.
 The other part of the North was not upset, but used this
as step towards talking Congress into abolishing slavery
all together.
Missouri Compromise
 Henry
Clay played the leading role in creating the
three part Compromise.
 Despite the North’s pleas, Congress admitted
Missouri as a slave state ,but created Maine, once
part of Massachuttes, as a free state. This kept the
balance between the North and South.
 Even though Missouri was allowed to retain slaves,
the rest of the Lousiana Purchase was not.
 In this Compromise, both the North and South lost
something and gained something.
Missouri Compromise (visual)
The Non-Lasting Effects
 The
Missouri
Compromise lasted for
34 years.
 The fight between slaver
went on, however, and
it is what eventually
broke the Union apart, in
the Civil War.
 The Missouri
Compromise was a
band- aid on a cut that
needed stitches.