Omar Bennett
Missouri's statehood was a pivotal moment in US history, as it brought to the fore the contentious issue of slavery. The Missouri Compromise, also known as the Compromise of 1820, was a federal legislation that aimed to balance the desires of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery and those of southern states to expand it. The controversy surrounding Missouri's statehood centred on whether it would be admitted as a slave or free state, threatening the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states. This debate led to a constitutional crisis, with northerners arguing that the extra population of slaves would give southern states more votes than they deserved, while southerners objected to any federal restrictions on slavery, believing it was a state issue. The Missouri Compromise ultimately admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance of power in Congress. However, it also set a precedent for future conflicts over statehood and slavery, and the Supreme Court later ruled the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional in the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision in 1857.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of statehood | August 10, 1821 |
| Constitutional convention | May 1820 |
| First state legislature | September 18, 1820 |
| First governor | Alexander McNair |
| First lieutenant governor | William Ashley |
| Date of statehood bill signing | March 6, 1820 |
| Date of statehood bill passage | March 3, 1820 |
| President who signed the bill | James Monroe |
| Compromise | Missouri admitted as a slave state, Maine admitted as a free state |
| Tallmadge Amendment | Rejected |
| Constitutional issue | Whether to allow slavery in the state |
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What You'll Learn
The Tallmadge Amendment
The amendment was seen as a way to restrict the weight of the slaveholding South in Congress. The number of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the population of the state, and slave states were allowed to count three-fifths of their slave population, increasing their number of representatives. The North's population had grown more rapidly than the South's, resulting in a lower countable populace in the South. By restricting slavery in Missouri, the Tallmadge Amendment would limit the representative boost gained from the three-fifths clause and reduce southern political influence.
The amendment passed the House by a close vote, with northern representatives largely in favour and southern representatives largely against it. However, it was rejected in the Senate due to growing Southern opposition to abolition, as well as support from some northern Senators. Southerners in Congress asserted that the amendment was unconstitutional, arguing that it was Missouri's decision to allow slavery, not Congress's. They believed that slavery was not an evil but a good thing, and that it was necessary for its survival to spread to new territories.
The failure of the Tallmadge Amendment led to a deadlock in Congress and heightened sectional tensions between the North and the South. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 eventually admitted Missouri as a slave state while admitting Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance between slave and free states in the nation. However, the compromise attempted to appease both sides of the debate, and the issue of slavery would continue to be a source of contention in American politics for many years to come.
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The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Territory's population was rapidly growing, and by 1818, tens of thousands of settlers, including slaveholders with their slaves, had made it their home. As the statehood application was taken up in the House of Representatives in 1819, a fierce debate ensued over whether Missouri would be a slave or free state. The issue of representation in Congress was at stake, with Southerners fearing a loss of power if Missouri were admitted as a free state. The Southern states, with their smaller free populations, benefited from the constitutional arrangement of two senators per state, regardless of population size.
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The Northwest Ordinance
The Missouri statehood debate centred on the issue of slavery and the balance of power between slave and free states. The Northwest Ordinance, enacted in 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States. It created the Northwest Territory, the first organised incorporated territory of the new nation, and established several important precedents for the expansion of the United States and its system of government.
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The three-fifths rule
The Three-Fifths Compromise, or the "three-fifths clause", was a constitutional issue that came to the fore during the Missouri statehood debates. This clause, agreed upon in the 1787 Constitutional Convention, stated that a state's population would be calculated by counting the entirety of its free population and 60% of its enslaved population. This calculation would then determine the number of that state's members in the House of Representatives and the size of its federal tax bill.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was an attempt to resolve a dispute between slave-holding states and those that were not. The compromise was reached after southern states, which had large slave populations, demanded that all slaves be counted for representation purposes. Northern states, on the other hand, argued that slaves, as they were not free citizens, should not be counted at all.
During the Missouri statehood debates, the Three-Fifths Compromise was criticised by northern politicians who argued that the inclusion of the "extra" slave population in state population calculations gave southern states more votes than they deserved in both the House of Representatives and the Electoral College. This issue was particularly pertinent in the Missouri statehood case, as the admission of Missouri as a slave state threatened to upset the balance between free and slave states in the Senate, giving slave states a two-vote advantage.
The Three-Fifths Compromise was also significant in the Missouri statehood debates because it highlighted the constitutional difficulties in restricting slavery. The compromise had been a way to indirectly recognise slavery without explicitly condoning it. This compromise, however, was seen by some as an endorsement of slavery and a violation of the nation's founding principles of equality and liberty. The controversy over slavery and the Three-Fifths Compromise during the Missouri statehood debates ultimately led to the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance between free and slave states in Congress.
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Federal restrictions on slavery
The Missouri statehood debate brought to the fore the issue of federal restrictions on slavery. The Missouri territory, part of the Louisiana Purchase, was the first part of that acquisition to apply for statehood in 1817. By 1819, its population was nearing the threshold for statehood. However, the admission of Missouri as a slave state threatened the balance between free and slave states in the country.
The controversy centred around the "'three-fifths clause'" of the US Constitution, which stated that a state's representation in the House of Representatives would be based on its free population and 60% of its enslaved population. This gave southern states with larger slave populations more votes in both the House and the Electoral College. Northern politicians argued that this gave southern states more votes than they deserved.
The issue came to a head in February 1819, when Representative James Tallmadge Jr. of New York proposed two amendments to Missouri's request for statehood, including restrictions on slavery. The Tallmadge Amendment, as it came to be known, proposed that Missouri be admitted as a free state, that no more slaves be allowed into the state after it achieved statehood, and that all enslaved children born there after its admission be freed at age 25. The amendment was supported by northern representatives, who denounced slavery as immoral and a violation of the nation's founding principles.
Southerners in Congress vehemently opposed the amendment, arguing that it violated the property rights of slaveholders and that slavery was a state issue, as settled by the Constitution. They also believed that the admission of Missouri as a slave state was a routine matter and that the amendment was an attempt to abolish slavery not just in Missouri but throughout the Union. The Southerners were able to tally majorities in the Senate, where each state had two senators regardless of population, giving them an advantage.
The Missouri Compromise, proposed by Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky, was a solution to this impasse. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, thus maintaining the balance between slave and free states in the country. The Compromise also prohibited slavery in the remaining Louisiana Purchase lands north of the 36°30′ parallel. This compromise allowed Missouri to become a state, but it did not impose federal restrictions on slavery within the state.
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Frequently asked questions
The Missouri Compromise was federal legislation that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance between slave and free states in Congress. It also banned slavery north of the 36° 30' parallel in the Louisiana Purchase lands.
The Missouri statehood brought to the surface a violent debate over whether slavery would be allowed in the new state. Northern politicians argued that the "extra" population of slaves would give southern states more votes than they deserved, threatening the balance between free and slave states in the Senate. Southerners objected to any bill that imposed federal restrictions on slavery, believing it was a state issue.
The Missouri Compromise was passed on March 3, 1820, and signed by President James Monroe on March 6, 1820, authorizing Missourians to commence the process for statehood. However, the Compromise was later ruled unconstitutional in the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision of 1857.
