Missouri's admission to the Union:
In 1819, Missouri sought to join the United States as a slave state. This posed a problem because, at that time, the Senate was equally divided between free states and slave states. Missouri's admission as a slave state would have tipped the balance in favor of the South and given slaveholding states more power in Congress.
The Tallmadge Amendment:
In an attempt to address the issue, Congressman James Tallmadge of New York proposed an amendment to the Missouri statehood bill. The Tallmadge Amendment stipulated that Missouri could only be admitted as a free state and that all future slaves born in Missouri would be freed when reaching the age of 25. This amendment passed in the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820:
To break the deadlock, Congress passed the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The compromise allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, but it also admitted Maine as a free state to maintain the balance in the Senate. Furthermore, the compromise established the 36°30' parallel as the dividing line between free and slave territory in the Louisiana Territory.
Impact of Sectionalism:
- Growing Tensions: The debate over Missouri's statehood highlighted the growing sectional divisions between the North and the South. People from the North, many of whom were opposed to the continuation of slavery, argued for limiting its spread, while people in the South defended slavery as essential to their economy and way of life.
- Escalation of Conflict: The contentious discussions over the issue served as a catalyst for further conflict between the North and the South. The dispute exposed the profound differences between the two regions, making it increasingly challenging to find common ground and resolve disagreements peacefully.
- Threat of Disunion: The Missouri controversy brought the Union closer to disintegrating than any previous issue. Both the North and the South considered secession if the dispute was resolved on terms they deemed unfavorable. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 temporarily defused tensions, but it did not eliminate the underlying causes of sectionalism, setting the stage for the more significant conflict leading up to the Civil War.
The fight over Missouri's statehood was symptomatic of the larger conflict between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States. It underlined the deepening sectional divisions that strained the fabric of the nation and hinted at the tumultuous events that would follow in the decades ahead, culminating in the American Civil War.