Maine Becomes A State

Maine Becomes A State

Exactly 200 years ago, Maine officially became a state. The year was 1820. Maine became a state as part of the Missouri Compromise.

Multiple Choice

How many years ago did Maine become a state?

• 100

• 150

• 200

• 300

Multiple Choice

In which year did Maine become a state?

• 1776

• 1812

• 1820

• 1961

Multiple Choice

Through which compromise did Maine become a state?

• The Missouri Compromise

• The Compromise of 1850

• The Compromise of the States

• The Great Compromise of 1919

Before the year 1820, Maine was part of the state of Massachusetts. It was known as the District of Maine. The State of New Hampshire separated the District of Maine from Massachusetts. Many people living in Maine believed the government of Massachusetts treated Maine poorly.

Multiple Choice

Before 1820, which state was Maine a part of?

• California

• Virginia

• Florida

• Massachusetts

Multiple Choice

Before 1820, what was Maine known as?

• The County of Maine

• The District of Maine

• Maniac's Paradise

• 10,000 Maniacs

Multiple Choice

Which state separated the District of Maine from Massachusetts?

• Vermont

• Quebec

• Florida

• New Hampshire

Maine's population ballooned from 91,000 in 1791 to nearly 300,000 in 1820. Most of these people were farmers who had moved to Maine when Massachusetts sold its public lands in the District of Maine to pay off it's Revolutionary War debts. Independent by nature, these rural Mainers began to demand independence from Massachusetts.

Multiple Choice

How many people lived in the District of Maine in 1791

• 9,000

• 91,000

• 9,100,00

• twelve

Multiple Choice

How many people lived in the District of Maine in 1820?

• 1,820

• 1,791

• twelve

• nearly 300,000

Multiple Choice

How did most of the people in the District of Maine make their living?

• through farming

• as lawyers

• manufacturing snowshoes

• as businessmen

Multiple Choice

Which State sold its public lands in the District of Maine to people who became farmers in Maine?

• New Hampshire

• Vermont

• Connecticut

• Massachusetts

Multiple Choice

Who began to demand independence for Maine from Massachusetts?

• Vermonters

• Congress

• rural Mainers

• Georgians

Multiple Choice

Why did Massachusetts sell its public lands in the District of Maine to people who became farmers in Maine?

• because the British crown demanded it.

• to make money to pay for the building of railroads and super highways in Massachusetts.

• to enrich the Duke and Duchess of Winthrop.

• to pay off Massachusetts' Revolutionary War debt.

The most common complaint was the great distance Mainers had to travel to reach the General Court in Boston. To get to Boston from anywhere in Maine involved a long walk to the nearest coastal village and then a dangerous voyage by boat to Boston. Maine towns were under-represented in the Massachusetts legislature where the laws believed to be unfair to Maine were passed.

The Massachusetts Legislature (The General Court), finally passed a bill allowing Maine to separate from Massachusetts if it got approval from Congress and the President in Washington, D.C. by March 4, 1820. Otherwise, Maine would remain a part of Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Legislature (The General Court), finally passed a bill allowing Maine to separate from Massachusetts if it got approval from Congress and the President in Washington, D.C. by March 4, 1820. Otherwise, Maine would remain a part of Massachusetts.

Multiple Choice

What was the most common complaint of rural Mainers?

• the harsh winters

• the distance they had to travel to the General Court in Boston, Massachusetts

• road congestion caused by tourists visiting Maine from Massachusetts

• the high price of heating oil

Multiple Choice

What did a trip from rural Maine to Boston often involve before 1820?

• a long drive in a car on broken pavement

• a dangerous railroad journey behind smokey steam engines

• a flight on dilapidated airplanes which often crashed

• a long walk to the coast and then a sea voyage by boat to Boston

Multiple Choice

Who felt they were under-represented in the Massachusetts legislature?

• Canadians

• eastern Massachusetts

• many Maine towns

• Walt Disney World

The Massachusetts Legislature (The General Court), finally passed a bill allowing Maine to separate from Massachusetts if it got approval from Congress and the President in Washington, D.C. by March 4, 1820. Otherwise, Maine would remain a part of Massachusetts.

It wasn't going to be easy to get congressional approval for Maine to become a state. The U.S. Senate, the senior body of the U.S. Congress, was evenly split between Northern anti-slavery states and Southern pro-slavery states. If Maine, a northern anti-slavery area, became a state, it would send two anti-slavery senators to Congress, which then could pass a law outlawing slavery in the South.

Multiple Choice

As what is the Massachusetts legislature known?

• The General Court

• Dollar General

• Sarasota

• Disney World

Multiple Choice

According to the bill passed by the Massachusetts General Court, who would have to approve Maine Statehood by March 4, 1820?

• Walt Disney

• The British Crown

• The President and Congress in Washington, D.C.

• The entire United States

Multiple Choice

What would happen to the District of Maine if its statehood was not approved by Congress and the President by March 4, 1820?

• Maine would become an independent country.

• Mainers would lose their farms

• Maine would become a part of France

• Maine would remain a part of Massachusetts

It wasn't going to be easy to get congressional approval for Maine to become a state. The U.S. Senate, the senior body of the U.S. Congress, was evenly split between Northern anti-slavery states and Southern pro-slavery states. If Maine, a northern anti-slavery district, became a state, it would send two anti-slavery senators to Congress. Then Congress could pass a law outlawing slavery in the South and in all other United States territories and states.

Multiple Choice

What was not going to be easy for Maine?

• to build ships that would sail the seven seas.

• to grow corn to feed the hungry people of Oxford and Norway.

• to get congressional approval to become a state.

• to build homes for thousands of refugees from Ireland.

Multiple Choice

Name the senior body of the U.S. Congress.

• the Massachusetts General Court

• the U.S. Senate

• Oxford Hills Senior Class of 2021

• the Senior Citizens' Chorus and Pentathlon Committee

Multiple Choice

Between which two groups was the U.S. Senate evenly divided?

• The Minnesota Vikings and The Boston Patriots

• The fifth and sixth grades

• Farmers and businessmen

• Anti-slavery Northern states and pro-slavery Southern states

Multiple Choice

Name a northern, anti-slavery district which was seeking Congressional approval for statehood.

• The North Pole

• Santa's Workshop

• Storyland and Santa's Village

• Disney World

• The District of Maine

Multiple Choice

Which way would senators from Maine in Congress be likely to vote?

• to ban slavery everywhere in the United States

• to force all Mainers to wear masks when trick or treating on October 31.

• to build ships out of metal mined in Oregon Territory

• to award the Congressional Medal of Honor to Mark Trail

The Southern Senators and Representatives in Congress could not allow Maine's admission as a state upset the balance of power in the Senate between the pro-slavery South and the anti- slavery North. It looked like Maine's chances of becoming a state were zero.

Multiple Choice

Who in Congress would never approve of Maine becoming a state if it upset the balance of power between pro-slavery Southern states and anti-slavery Northern states in the U.S. Senate?

• The Tortoise and the Hare

• Ben an Jerry

• The President and his henchmen

• Southern Senators and Representatives

Multiple Choice

How did Maine's chances of becoming a state look if her admission as a state upset the balance between the North and the South in the U.S. Senate?

• Hunky dory

• Zero

• the square root of 81

• fair to middling

• like a blue moon in a month of Sundays

But all was not lost! A territory west of the Mississippi called Missouri, which was a part of the Louisiana Purchase, also wanted to become a state. However, unlike Maine, slavery was legal in Missouri.

Multiple Choice

In what area was Missouri Territory located?

• West of the Mississippi River in the Louisiana Purchase

• East of the Mississippi in the Carolinas

• In New England between Maine and Massachusetts

• On the Spanish Plain where it never rains

Multiple Choice

What was legal in Missouri Territory which was illegal in the District of Maine?

• Playing Mumbly Sticks

• slavery

• Tobogganing in Winter

• Christmas

• Publishing a newspaper or journal

Multiple Choice

What did Missouri Territory want to become?

• Part of New England

• A giant multi-national corporation

• a state

• a colony of Massachusetts

Some members of Congress suggested that iCongress allowed Missouri to became a pro-slavery southern state at the same time that Congress allowed Maine to become an anti-slavery Northern state the balance of power in the U.S. Senate between the pro-slavery South and the anti-slavery would be maintained. No law outlawing slavery anywhere would then be able to be passed by the U.S. Senate!

Multiple Choice

What would be maintained in Congress if both Missouri and Maine were admitted to the United States as states at the same time?

• the President's check book balance

• the balance in the U.S. Senate between the pro-slavery South and the anti-slavery North

• an Era of Good Feelings in Connecticut

• tidiness and sanitation in the Capitol Dome

Multiple Choice

Which type of law would never pass through the Senate if Maine and Missouri were allowed to become states at the same time?

• a law allowing women to vote

• a law banning the manufacture, distribution and sale of soft-drinks in the United States

• a law allowing ships to sail on Lake Penneeseewassee in Norway

• a law banning slavery anywhere in the United States