Manifest Destiny and the Missouri Compromise

Manifest Destiny and the Missouri Compromise

Poll

How much do you know about Manifest Destiny?

• I don't know anything

• I know a little bit

• I know a lot

What is Manifest Destiny?

Manifest Destiny: God-given, unavoidable right and responsibility to spread democracy across the continent, from sea to shining sea.

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The term was first coined by a newspaper reporter named John L. O'Sullivan in ​1845.

​Going West

​​ As the U.S. grew, the idea of Manifest Destiny became even more popular. Government leaders felt it was their responsibility to extend the borders of the U.S. across the continent. They also wanted to spread America’s ideas of freedom and democracy as they went. This idea motivated leaders to make the Louisiana Purchase and encouraged early settlers to keep pushing west.

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​ However, problems with the idea of Manifest Destiny started cropping up. People had different opinions about which American beliefs should be spread from “sea to shining sea.” For example, people began to disagree over whether slavery should be allowed in new U.S. territories and states. The North believed in freedom for all while the South believed slavery was necessary and useful. The problem wouldn’t be resolved for many years to come.

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(From FL Studies Weekly)​

Multiple Choice

Which direction did settlers move to achieve Manifest Destiny?

• North

• West

• South

• East

Multiple Choice

What is the purpose of Manifest Destiny according to John L. O'Sullivan?

• It was the United States' responsibility to spread democracy across the America.

• The United States was responsible for giving freedom to all people.

• The United States was responsible for spreading religion.

• The United States was responsible for fighting the battles of other countries.

Open Ended

Explain Manifest Destiny in your own words.

Poll

I can explain Manifest Destiny to my peers?

• Not really

• Sort of

• Definitely!

The Missouri Compromise

Poll

How much do you know about the Missouri Compromise?

• I don't know anything

• I know a little bit

• I know a lot

The Question of Slavery​

​Slavery is the practice of forcing a person to work for no pay and treating that person as property. Sadly, it has been a part of human history for thousands of years. In the Americas, slavery among the new settlers began in 1500 when tradespeople captured West African men and shipped them to Brazil or the Caribbean. Over the years, slavery became part of America’s Southern Colonies when slaves arrived there to work the land on plantations, or large farms. As the United States grew, people became divided over slavery. Those in the North didn’t like slavery and wanted the federal government to make it illegal to keep or sell slaves. Southerners who used slaves to help make their living wanted to keep slavery. They felt the federal government didn’t have the right to decide what happened in their states. They believed each state had the right to decide for itself whether to allow slavery.

​Upsetting the Balance of Power

From FL Studies Weekly​

​In 1818, the people of the Missouri Territory asked Congress for permission to become a state. The request to become a state wasn’t anything unusual, except for one thing. Missouri wanted to join the Union as a slave state. This was at a time when the Union was made up of 11 free states (states where slavery was not allowed) and 11 slave states (states where slavery was allowed). Each state sent two U.S. senators to Congress, so the power of senators who supported slavery and those who opposed it was evenly balanced. If Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state, it would upset the balance of power and bring the total slave states to 12 and the total free states to 11.

Multiple Choice

What is Slavery?

• Living south of the Missouri Compromise line.

• Placing chains on a person.

• Forcing a person to work for no pay and treating that person as property.

• Being asked to take out the garbage.

From FL Studies Weekly

​ A meeting about Missouri began in Congress. James Tallmadge Jr. was a congressman from New York City. He proposed that if Missouri became a state, slavery should gradually be made illegal there. He thought the government should not allow more slaves to enter Missouri, and that children of slaves already living in Missouri should be freed. Their masters could keep these children until they turned 25 years old, but then they should be allowed to go free.

John Scott was Missouri’s territorial delegate in Congress. He did not agree with Tallmadge’s proposal. Scott said that when the Louisiana Purchase was signed, it stated that all the citizens of Missouri could keep their property, including their slaves. Scott said Congress had no right to tell the citizens of Missouri they couldn’t have slaves. Because neither side could agree, Missouri did not become a state during this session of Congress.

When Missouri citizens found out what had happened, many were angry that Congress was trying to tell them they could no longer have slaves. They wanted to join the Union, but they also wanted the right to keep their slaves.

The Debate Begins

Open Ended

What was John Scott's argument for allowing slavery in Missouri?

From FL Studies Weekly​

​In December 1819, Congress met again and the same arguments about Missouri becoming a slave state started all over again. This time, however, someone suggested a compromise that was acceptable to both sides. Speaker of the House Henry Clay was from Kentucky. He came up with an idea that pleased the senators from both slave and free states.

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Clay suggested that both sides reach a compromise. He proposed that Missouri be admitted to the Union as a slave state and Maine be admitted as a free state. Maine was another district wanting to become a state. Then there would be 12 slave states and 12 free states. This would allow the balance to continue. The number of slave states would still be equal to the number of free states and everyone would be happy. Clay’s idea worked and the Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri to become the 24th state of the Union on Aug. 19, 1821. Henry Clay earned the nickname “The Great Compromiser” for his efforts.

​The Missouri Compromise

Results of the Compromise

From FL Studies Weekly​

​ Besides adding two new states to the Union, the Missouri Compromise also used a boundary line to divide one area from another. The line marked where slavery could and could not be practiced in the United States. After the Missouri Compromise, slavery was forbidden (not allowed) north of an imaginary line across Missouri’s southern border. Look at the map and find the line. All new states north of this imaginary line would be admitted as free states. All new states south of this imaginary line would be admitted as slave states. Although Missouri was located north of the line of compromise, it had been admitted as a slave state so it was free to practice slavery within its borders. Slavery was outlawed everywhere else north of this line. This compromise worked well for the time being, but it did not solve the problem of slavery in the long run.

Multiple Choice

After the compromise, Missouri was different from all the other states because:

• It was north of the line but still allowed slavery.

• It was south of the line but didn't allow slavery.

• It was not admitted as a state at that time.

• It allowed slavery for 5 years and then no slavery for 5 years.

Open Ended

How did Missouri's desire to become a state cause problems in Congress?

Multiple Choice

Who came up with the compromise that pleased the congressmen from both slave and free states?

• Abraham Lincoln

• John L. O'Sullivan

• John Scott

• Henry Clay

Multiple Choice

What is the Missouri Compromise?

• An agreement for the new state to be named Missouri instead of Maine.

• An agreement between James Tallmadge and John Scott to purchase slaves.

• An agreement to allow one slave state and one free state to enter the Union to preserve the balance of power in the Senate.

• An agreement to share water rights along the Missouri River.

Poll

I can explain the Missouri Compromise to my peers?

• Not really.

• Sort of.

• Definitely!