The Missouri Compromise of 1820 (APUSH Review - Period 4)

When Missouri applied for admission to the Union, Congress had its first debate concerning whether or not a state should be allowed to be admitted as a slave or a free state. The Tallmadge Amendment, passed by the House of Representatives, sought to tie Missouri's admission to a program of gradual emancipation. When the Senate and the House were deadlocked, Henry Clay proposed a compromise, which admitted Missouri in the Union as a slave state, while also admitting Maine (then part of Massachusetts) as a free state, and restricting slavery in the remaining territories of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36°30′ parallel. This was the first of three compromises that Clay would engineer, earning him the title, the "Great Compromiser". This lecture will be useful for AP US History students, as well as high school and college students taking US History survey courses... and anyone else who is just interested in history! Part II of this lecture will focus on Jefferson's reaction to the Missouri Compromise.