Missouri Compromise

Warning signals of the civil war that would soon strike the United States were first seen in the conflict that led to the Missouri Compromise of 1820. In 1819 the Missouri Territory was being considered for admission into the United States. The problem arose when it was suggested in Congress that slavery be restricted in Missouri as a condition of admission.

At the time, there were an equal number of slave states and free states in the Union. The admission of Missouri, whether slave or free, would upset the balance of power that existed between these rival factions in the Senate. Under the terms of the Missouri Compromise, however, both sides were temporarily appeased. Maine, which was also requesting admission to the Union, was granted entry as free state; Missouri was then admitted without restrictions on slavery.

As the nation spread westward, however, this question inevitably rose again. When it did, it was in the context of the famous Supreme Court ruling in the Dred Scott case of 1857. This decision declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional and helped pave the way for the Civil War.