Missouri Compromise of 1820
In 1818 Missouri became a state. The settlers from Missouri wanted it to be a slave state. The Congressmen
from the North did not want another slave state. That same year Maine also asked to be admitted to the Union.
In 1820 an agreement called the Missouri Compromise was reached. The compromise allowed Missouri to
come into the Union as a slave state and Maine would be a free state.
Congress drew an imaginary line across the middle of the United States running from the east coast to the
Pacific Ocean. This imaginary line separated the states into free and slave states. Any new state entering the
Union that was south of the line would be a slave state. Any state north of the line would enter the Union as a
free state.
Maine became a state in 1820. Missouri became a state in 1821.
1. Take a blank map of the United States. Make a color key. Color the map according to the following regions in the
Missouri Compromise of 1820: (Powerpoint Slide)
Free States and Territories, Slave States, Open to Slavary by the Missouri Compromise, and closed to Slavery by
the Missouri Compromise.
- Color All Water Blue
- Color All other Land Brown
- Label Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and Gulf of Mexico
2. Draw the “imaginary line” across the U.S. representing the Missouri Compromise.
3. Answer these questions:
a) What was the purpose of the Missouri Compromise? (Complete Sentence)
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b) What two states were admitted to the Union as part of the Missouri Compromise?
c) Where did the Missouri Compromise "imagery line" run?
d) Why did new problems about the spread of slavery come up after the Missouri Compromise?
Reference Map