may 8, 1820 - The Missouri Compromise

Description:

The Missouri Compromise was a course of political arrangements constructed by the Speaker of the House, Henry Clay. The Missouri compromise resulted in Maine becoming a free state in the Union in 1820 and Missouri becoming a slave state in 1821. This conserved a balance in the Senate between North and South and set a criterion for eventual entrances to the Union. The Missouri Compromise is significant because it established the northern boundary of slavery in the lands of the Louisiana Purchase on the southern border of Missouri.