Missouri Compromise
Soon after the war of 1812, America faced an elaborate economic development. The North ventured into industrialization as the South got immersed in agriculture. In the North, the factories flourished because of the cheap and readily available labor. The North grew because immigrants provided cheap labor for their factories. Therefore, the North did not require slaves as the few farmers in the North did not engage in large-scale farming. The situation was, however, different in the South. Due to the invention of the cotton gin, the South flourished in cotton farming. The farmers in the South planted cotton on large-scale plantations that needed a lot of labor. Thus, as cotton production increased in the South, so did slave labor. The North began to push for the abolition of slavery as the South opposed the Bill, which would disable their economy. The Missouri Compromise was an effort to prevent further spread of slavery to the newly acquired West territories.
Slavery was the backbone of the Southern economy. After Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, most textile mills were able to use the type of cotton that was grown in the South. Therefore, the Southerners ventured into large-scale cotton farming. Due to the labor needed in cotton plantations, the South started to thrive in slave trading. All plantation owners sought to acquire the best and strongest slaves to work in their estates. Ideally, once a plantation owner purchased a slave, even the offspring of the slave would automatically become the property of the plantation owner. Therefore, as cotton plantations thrived in the South, so did slavery.
The North, on the other hand, was invested in industrialization. The end of the American Revolution saw the upcoming of many inventions. Many factories did not require a lot of manual labour; which rendered slavery largely unprofitable in the North. Furthermore, the influx of immigrants provided cheap labor in the industries. Therefore, the North perceived slavery as inhumane and sinful. In his journals, John Quincy Adams, a Northerner who advocated for anti-slavery stated that although the southerners knew that slavery was a sin, they were proud and blinded by the power of masterdom (John 2). Thus, the North regarded slavery as immoral and therefore advocated for the end of slavery in America.
The South was torn between the economic gains of slavery and the moral issues that arose from slavery. Therefore, the southerners became defensive in retaining slavery. Similarly, the North was in a dilemma between abolishing slavery and maintaining the Union between the North and the South. The South believed that black people were like children who could not be independent. Furthermore, the Southerners believed that slavery was suitable for black people as it exposed them to modernity as well as slavery. The North, on the other hand, believed that although black people were inferior to whites, enslaving black people was immoral and inhumane. However, in the fight against slavery, the North was cautious about retaining a mutual union between the North and the South.
The North was risking destroying the Union between the North and the South in their fight against slavery. In his journals, Quincy mentioned a conversation with Calhoun on the anti-slavery campaign. Calhoun told Quincy that if the abolition of slavery caused a dissolution of the Union, the South would be compelled to form an offensive and defensive alliance with Great Britain (John 1). Also, the Northern population would be cut off from its natural outlet in the ocean, which would force the Northerners to starve as they would not even travel south by land. Thus, the North had to think critically about how the fight against slavery would affect their economy and livelihoods.
Seeing that the North and South faced significant losses with the abolition of slavery, the Missouri compromise was drafted. Congress was looking for a solution that would abolish slavery and maintain the Union between the North and the South. The Missouri Compromise was intended to diffuse the political rivalry between the North and the South by preventing further spread of slavery in the newly acquired Western territories. Initially, Southerners condemned the compromise since it established that Congress had the authority to make laws regarding slavery. The Northerners made up the majority in the Congress; thus, the Southerners felt threatened. Similarly, the Northerners condemned the Missouri Compromise seeing that it had allowed expansion of slavery up to the South of the compromise line. Quincy stated that he favored the Missouri compromise since it had restricted further spread of slavery and also, the compromise was just the beginning of the fight against slavery (John 2). Therefore, although the North and the South retained reasons that deterred them from entering into the Missouri Compromise, they set their differences aside for the interest of maintaining the Union.
In conclusion, the Missouri Compromise was the begging of the fight against slavery. Although the compromise was supposed to create an even balance between slave and Free states, the compromise paved the way for abolitionist movements later in American history. Missouri Compromised played a significant role in maintaining peace between the North and the South by ensuring both sides compromised. Although the American Civil war brought an end to slavery, the Missouri Compromise remains an integral part of American history as it was the first attempt to abolish slavery.
Works Cited
John Quincy Adams, The Diary of John Quincy Adams, February 23, 1820, [Slavery Is a Stain], February 24, 1820, and [Slavery Is the Question upon which the Union Will Break], March 3, 1820.
The Missouri Compromise. http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/static/neh/interactives/sectionalism/lesson1/