The Missouri Compromise Essay

In the years prior to the American Civil War, Congress created, passed, and dismissed dozens of compromises to diminish sectional tensions created by opposing slavery beliefs. During April 1861, the agreements created by the United States government began to display their repercussions. These repercussions were caused by the unhappiness created by the compromises and because of the unsatisfying conditions, many Southern states, including states such as Georgia, Florida, and Alabama, seceded from the union and the North was constantly unpleased. These deals were made to pacify the hunger to expand to new lands and make them slave states. Opposing the pro-slavery South, Northerners either believed in the gradual emancipation of slavery or immediate …show more content…
The Missouri Compromise was first thought of when Missouri and Maine requested to join the Union. Congress had hoped with the entrance of new states, is issue of slavery would be avoided. However, this was not the cause and slavery became a debated issue once again. The North did not agree that adding Missouri to the Union as a slave state was fair because the South would have one more slave state than the North had free states. To ease these tensions, the Missouri Compromise was formed and Susan Dudley Gold describes the intentions in the Missouri Compromise, “The amendment offered an incentive to the North-a ban on slavery in the northern territories (and future states)-and two incentives to the South-no restrictions on slavery in Missouri and a fugitive state.” The Missouri Compromise was written by Henry Clay and this agreement stated that the lands of the Louisiana Purchase and any lands north of the thirty-sixth parallel did not allow slavery, with the exception of Missouri. The transcript of the Missouri Compromise states, “That the inhabitants of that portion of the Missouri territory included within the boundaries... authorized to form for themselves a constitution and state government, and to assume such name as they shall deem proper.” This concession helped create a balance between the North and South that was crucial to keeping a civil war from erupting, however the soon destruction of this agreement, caused by the …show more content…
It separated the North and South further because it ensured that the amount of slave states to non slave states was equal. This compromise led to the American Civil War because it created two distinct sides, slavery (South) and anti slavery (North), and when they disagreed, their discord led to the formation of a new deal to pacify them. Thomas Jefferson realized that these agreements would eventually end badly, his beliefs are displayed on Ancestral Findings, “Thomas Jefferson predicted dividing the country this way would eventually lead the country into Civil War.” In 1820, forty-one years prior to the Civil War, Thomas Jefferson was able to see that these agreements were going to harm the country and end in madness. Yet, Congress continued to pass compromises after the warning, inching them closer to being on the brink of civil war. The Missouri Compromise directly influenced the start of the American Civil War because this compromise set distinct boundaries isolating both of the sides from one another. Also, this agreement only fixed the problem at hand and would not save the nation in the long run because to an extent, the nation was no longer fully united, rather it was unified on both sides, separately, and opposing the