Missouri Compromise
What was the purpose of the Missouri Compromise?
To maintain the balance of free and slave states in Congress.
What did the Wilmot Proviso propose?
It proposed banning slavery in territories gained from Mexico.
What new free state was admitted to the Union under the Compromise of 1850?
California.
What was the main goal of the Free Soil Party?
To stop the expansion of slavery into new territories.
What issue did all of these compromises attempt to address?
The expansion of slavery.
What two states were directly affected by the Missouri Compromise?
Missouri (slave) and Maine (free).
Which region of the U.S. supported the Wilmot Proviso?
The North.
What law, included in the Compromise, forced Northerners to return escaped slaves?
The Fugitive Slave Act.
What was the Free Soil Party’s slogan?
“Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, and Free Men.”
What was the balance of free and slave states before the Missouri Compromise?
11 free states and 11 slave states.
Who proposed the Missouri Compromise?
Henry Clay
Why was the Wilmot Proviso never passed into law?
It was blocked in the Senate by Southern politicians.
Who was the main senator responsible for proposing the Compromise of 1850?
Henry Clay.
How did the Kansas-Nebraska Act undo part of the Missouri Compromise?
Martin Van Buren.
How did the Kansas-Nebraska Act undo part of the Missouri Compromise?
It allowed popular sovereignty to decide slavery, overriding the Missouri Compromise line.
What was the latitude line established as the boundary for slavery?
36°30' latitude
What war’s outcome made the Wilmot Proviso necessary?
The Mexican-American War.
How did the Compromise of 1850 impact the slave trade in Washington, D.C.?
It ended the slave trade (but not slavery itself) in Washington, D.C.
Why did many Northern workers support the Free Soil Party?
They wanted land in the West to be available for free labor instead of being worked by enslaved people.
What book, published in 1852, increased tensions over slavery?
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
Why did the Missouri Compromise temporarily ease tensions between the North and South?
It temporarily settled disputes over the expansion of slavery.
How did the Wilmot Proviso influence sectional tensions in the U.S.?
It increased tensions because Southerners saw it as a direct attack on slavery.
Why did the Compromise of 1850 fail to bring a long-term solution to the slavery issue?
Because both sides continued to distrust each other, and the issue of slavery remained unresolved.
How did the Free Soil Party contribute to the rise of the Republican Party?
It helped shift national political focus toward stopping slavery’s expansion.
Which famous senator said, “I speak today not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man, but as an American”?
Daniel Webster.