In the early years, the need to expand Missouri into statehood encountered significant differences following the question of whether to allow slaves into the new state. The debate facilitates disagreement among the representative who intended to advocate for the admission of Missouri into the union (“Research guides: Missouri Compromise: Primary documents in American history: Introduction”, 2022). In order to solve the issue, the individuals were forced to balance the power in Congress between free states and slaves leading to the adoption of the Missouri Compromise in 1820. The approach allowed both parties to gain their demands as those who opposed slavery were allowed to exercise their right as well as the group that depended on slaves’ services. To achieve the equilibrium, the agreement made Missouri a slave state and Maine a free state. To prevent further conflict, a borderline was drawn in Louisiana territory to prohibit slavery from passing to the northern part.
Following the rise in issues of territorial expansion and slavery, the Compromise Act of 1850 was adopted consisting of five different laws. The agreement prompted the amendment of the Fugitive Slave Act. In addition, Washington, D.C., was allowed to abolish the slave trade. Moreover, a functioning territorial government was established in Utah as a result of the adjustment (“Research guides: Compromise of 1850: Primary documents in American history: Introduction”, 2022). California’s request to enter the union as a free state was accepted.
The demand to reorganize the Nebraska and Kansas territories promoted the enactment of 1854. This is the following difference in the perspective of slavery in the regions. The agreement gave the residents of each state to decide on matters concerning slavery. The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise by allowing slaves into the northern part (“Research guides: Kansas-Nebraska Act: Primary documents in American history: Introduction”, 2022). Despite the effectiveness of the law, it facilitated the eruption of conflict between the anti-slavery individuals and the pro-slavery settlers. Furthermore, it led to the formation of the Republican Party which attracted the northerners.
References
Research guides: Compromise of 1850: Primary documents in American history: Introduction. Guides.loc.gov. (2022).
Research guides: Kansas-Nebraska Act: Primary documents in American history: Introduction. Guides.loc.gov. (2022).
Research guides: Missouri Compromise: Primary documents in American history: Introduction. Guides.loc.gov. (2022).