The Missouri Compromise of 1820, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 all had one thing in common, to prevent the United States from dissolving over slavery. All three acts were designed to be a compromise between the North and South over the question of slavery’s expansion into the western territories. However, each act proved to be only a temporary solution to the growing sectional divide in the nation at the time. The sectional wound that the nation felt over slavery needed a permanent fix that never materialized. Instead, each act served as a temporary bandage on an issue that needed stitches to be fixed. Eventually those bandages bled out causing each act to fail in their purpose to prevent the Civil War (1861-1865)
Of the three acts passed by Congress, the Missouri Compromise was the most effective. This was because it stood in place for thirty years until it was repealed in 1854. The creation of the “Great Compromiser” Henry Clay, the Compromise was truly that. It helped to maintain the balance of free and slave states in the nation at eleven each, preventing an early civil war. It allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state while Maine became a free state. The compromise also banned slavery in the territory northwest of Missouri. However, as more territory was added to the nation, the Compromise became less effective. In the end, the Missouri Compromise failed to prevent the Civil War because the nation grew more divided over slavery’s expansion into the West.
The Compromise of 1850 was the result of America’s war with Mexico from 1846-1848. The Mexican Cession (the American southwest and California) which was the result of the war, added more territory to the United States. This helped to spark the debate over slavery in the territories once more. The Compromise consisted of five parts, of those five parts two were more controversial and had lasting effects on the nation. The first was that California wanted to join the nation as a free state. This angered those in the South because it would upset the balance of power in the Senate. With no other state to maintain the balance a compromise would be needed. The second, was the creation of a new fugitive slave law. Under the revised law, those in the North were required by law to aid slave catchers in retrieving runaways. Those who refused to help were fined or imprisoned. In the end, the Compromise of 1850 failed because it created even more tensions between the North and South despite its attempts to appease both sides.
The Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854 had the most harmful effect on the nation. When it came time to organize the territory into Kansas and Nebraska, Senator Stephen Douglas opted to allow each territory to decide if it wanted slavery or not. This concept was known as popular sovereignty. The issue that arose was that a civil war took place in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces. However, what sparked the complete disaster of the Kansas Nebraska Act was that it repealed the Missouri Compromise which had banned slavery the territories for thirty years. In the end, the Kansas Nebraska Act failed because it in turn created a picture of what was to come during the Civil War.
The Missouri Compromise (1820), the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) were all attempts to deal with the divisive issue of slavery in the United States. The white South wanted slavery to thrive and expand. The North, on the other hand, wanted to limit its spread. Some Northerners thought slavery should be abolished. In the end, these three attempts to resolve the issue failed, and the Civil War (1861–1865) occurred.
The North and the South had equal representation in the Senate. When Missouri applied for statehood, though, this threatened that balance. Senator Henry Clay (1777–1852) tried to placate both sides with the Missouri Compromise. Missouri entered as a slave state, while Maine entered as a free state. Also, slavery was prohibited in the territories northwest of Missouri's southern border.
The acquisition of territory in the West in 1848 reignited the slavery debate. America seized huge tracts of land from Mexico: would they be slave states or free states? Once again, Clay, the "great compromiser," helped avoid a civil war with the Compromise of 1850. California was admitted as a free state. In return, the South received a stronger Fugitive Slave Act.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was the last major attempt to find an enduring compromise. It overturned the Missouri Compromise by allowing slavery in territory north of Missouri's southern border. By this time, Clay was dead, and there were no national figures of comparable stature. Senator Stephen Douglas explained that the people of the territories would decide if they wanted slavery; in other words, there would be popular sovereignty. The Kansas-Nebraska Act led to a small-scale civil war in Kansas and increased hostility between North and South.
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