Representative of New York, James Tallmadge, Jr., proposed two amendments to the Missouri statehood bill in 1819. First, it proposed the prohibition of any further slaves into Missouri. Secondly, he proposed the gradual emancipation for slaves currently there. The House of Representatives passed his proposal, but in the Senate, where representation of free and slaveholding states were equal, rejected it. Congressional debates on the issue ensued for a year until Maine, originally part of Massachusetts, requested statehood. Henry Clay
Representative of New York, James Tallmadge, Jr., proposed two amendments to the Missouri statehood bill in 1819. First, it proposed the prohibition of any further slaves into Missouri. Secondly, he proposed the gradual emancipation for slaves currently there. The House of Representatives passed his proposal, but in the Senate, where representation of free and slaveholding states were equal, rejected it. Congressional debates on the issue ensued for a year until Maine, originally part of Massachusetts, requested statehood. Henry Clay