The Missouri Compromise

The Missouri Compromise was an important agreement made in 1820 that aimed to balance the interests of slave and free states in the United States. It allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state while Maine was admitted as a free state, keeping the number of each type of state equal.

Additionally, the compromise established a line (the 36°30' parallel) across the Louisiana Territory, north of which slavery was prohibited. This agreement temporarily reduced tensions between the North and South, but it also highlighted the growing divisions over the issue of slavery.