1820 – Missouri Compromise (dec 31, 1819 – jan 1, 1820)

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The Missouri Compromise was one of the first major legislative attempts to balance power between the North (anti-slavery) and South (pro-slavery). It allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state while prohibiting slavery in the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase territory north of the 36°30′ latitude. The compromise kept the Union intact for a time but revealed the deepening sectional divide. It marked the beginning of territorial tensions that would dominate U.S. politics leading up to the Civil War.
This compromise set a precedent for handling the expansion of slavery in new territories, which would become increasingly contentious with events like the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854). Ultimately, the Missouri Compromise was deemed unconstitutional by the Dred Scott Decision in 1857, nullifying earlier efforts at compromise and exacerbating sectional tensions.

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