The Missouri Compromise .docx - The Missouri Compromise...

The Missouri Compromise
Slavery had come to America in 1619. It existed through the American Revolution, even after Thomas Jefferson penned his
famous lines in the Declaration of Independence, "All men are created equal. They are endowed by their creator with certain
unalienable rights. That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Obviously, slaves were not part of this
equation. When it came time to write the Constitution, the word "slavery" was never used. Instead, the framers chose to use the
term "other people." These other people were counted as 3/5 of a person for the purposes of representation in Congress according
to the 3/5 Compromise. This compromise kept slavery in the United States intact. The founders also decided not to do anything
about the issue of slavery for twenty years. Someone else would have to deal with it.
In 1820 with the admission of Missouri to the Union, the issue of slavery came up again. There was already a great deal of
tension between the North and the South. The South was highly agricultural. It wanted to keep slavery as a way of life on
their plantations. The North, which was far more industrial, saw this "peculiar institution" as unnecessary and increasingly