Henry Clay and the Missouri Compromise

1. Henry Clay and the Missouri Compromise Pages 490-492

2. Who Was Henry Clay? • Born in Virginia • Father was a Baptist minister • No formal schooling – self taught • Studied law • Congressman from Kentucky for 42 years • Ran for President five times • Nickname - “Great Compromiser”

3. Free or Slave State? • Each time a group of settlers asked to join the Union as a new state, a decision had to be made: • Free State – No Slavery Allowed • Slave State – Slavery Permitted *For a time there were as many free states as slave states. This kept a balance between the North and South.

4. A Problem Develops . . . . • In 1819, settlers in the Missouri Territory asked to join the Union as a slave state. • If this happened, slave states would outnumber free states. • The Missouri question became a heated debate that dragged on for months.

5. Henry Clay to the Rescue • Henry Clay worked on this problem for months. • Henry Clay owned slaves but did not want to see the question of slavery tear the nation apart. • He persuaded Congress to agree to a compromise.

6. Missouri Compromise of 1820 • Under Clay’s plan Missouri would be allowed to join the Union as a slave state. • Maine would join as a free state. • This would keep the balance between free and slave states. • An imaginary line would divide the lands of the Louisiana Purchase. • North of the line would be free states and south of the line would be slave states.

8. Results of the Compromise • The Missouri Compromise kept peace for nearly 30 years. • During this time six new states joined the Union, but the number of free and slave states remained equal. • Henry Clay’s plan helped to avoid conflict in the Union until 1848.

9. California – Free State • After the War with Mexico, settlers in California asked to join the Union as a free state in 1848. • Henry Clay once again found himself in the middle of an argument in Congress over slavery. • His new plan was called the Great Compromise.

10. Great Compromise of 1850 • California joined the Union as a free state. • The remaining land of the southwest was divided into two territories – New Mexico and Utah. • The people of the territories would decide the issue of slavery. • The Compromise also included the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.

12. The Henry Clay Legacy • Henry Clay is remembered as the Great Compromiser. • He died in 1852. • He never gave up hope that the country would find a peaceful way to settle their differences. • “I know no North – no South – no East – no West.”