Jacksonian Democracy

Jacksonian Democracy
Background 
In Chapter 10: Jacksonian Democracy, 1820-1840, the “The Missouri Compromise” p. 294 were the 11 slaves and 11 non-slaveholding states that made up the Union, and Missouri wanted to be part of the Union. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was an agreement made in the United States Congress between representatives of the slave and free (non-slaveholding) states on regulating slavery in the western territories. However, the compromise brought uncertainties on how best to deal with slavery (Flemming 17). At the time, there were 11 slaves and 11 non-slaveholding states. President James Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise, and together with his cabinet, his active involvement was crucial to the passage of the Compromise. In the Jackson era, there was more emphasis on the rights of common people, but Jackson did not address the rights of Native Americans. Accepting Missouri into the Union meant there would be 12 slaveholding states, and then Maine was split from Massachusetts and became a new abolitionist state. The Missouri Compromise highlighted disagreements on slavery and politics in the Union, with the pro and anti-slavery camps seeking Missouri to be on their side.
Subject and the source 
Henry Clay from Kentucky and Jesse Thomas from Illinois were the main architects of the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The issue of slavery was controversial and northern politicians hoped to limit slavery, and Missouri’s acceptance into the Union would influence its future. Thus, there were concerns about achieving sectional balance. Slavery and the compromise widened social and political tensions (Gallo 124). Missouri had been carved from the Louisiana Purchase. The temporary solution to the question of the expansion of slavery was to be divided free and slave areas from the purchase.
The Jacksonian Democracy chapter has various sections and highlights issues related to the policies of the Democratic-Republican Party and territorial expansion. The document “Missouri Compromise” is a subsection under the section A New National Politics that focuses on changes in the Democratic-Republican Party to Adam being president. The Compromise also addressed the issue of slavery where it was accepted that slavery north of 36° 30` latitude (Historynet) and (National Geographic).
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution adopted in 1868 granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans. Thus, before 1868, Black people, whether free or enslaved, did not have the same rights as whites and were assumed not to be covered by the Constitution. Additionally, the federal government had little power to regulate and address the issue of slavery in territories. The issue of Native Americans and their territories would be addressed later. Before the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Spain and France allowed slavery. Slavery remained a bitterly contested institution as disagreements persisted even after the Civil War (Forbes 3). In any case, westward expansion worsened tensions because of differences in slavery with the north on stopping slavery from spreading westwards (Khan Academy).
From 1820 to 1846, the Missouri Compromise or state law influenced slavery status, and when new lands have acquired, the issue of slavery came up numerous times. The Missouri Compromise had prohibited slavery in the west but done little to resolve the issue (Paulus 28). Still, there were strong disagreements on the question of further expansion of slavery in new territories. For instance, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 repealed the Missouri Compromise allowed the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to vote on the legality of slavery (Library of Congress). Prior to the events leading to the Missouri Compromise, northerners did not bring up the issue of slavery when territories applied for statehood. Thus, it was unexpected that the North objected to Missouri's admission based on southern support for Missouri's admission and being a slaveholding state.
Following the 1820 presidential election, politics was closely linked with competing for sectional interests as there was no competitive two-party competition as the Federalists failed to nominate a presidential candidate. A year earlier, Missouri sought admission to the Union and already had a slave population. Sectional divisions grew even further because of differences son how best to deal with slavery (History). Furthermore, northern congress members were concerned with the likelihood of a shift in power where there would be more southern representatives. Missouri’s admission into the Union would determine whether the state would be allied with the Southerners or Northerners. Thus, the issues of slavery and sectionalism became contentious more than ever before as there would be a change in the balance of power, political and economic interests. The Missouri Compromise of 1850 was later adopted and shifted the balance of power as there were 15 slaves and 19 Free states (Randolph 18).
Problems being identified by the source
Missouri’s admission to the Union as a state raised the question of how to deal with slavery, as the North was opposed to slavery. However, Southern legislators were not keen on ending it, and slavery was crucial to the agricultural economy. In 1819, before the Compromise was adopted, New York representative James Tallmadge introduced an amendment in the House of Representatives to restrict slavery in Missouri (McGerr et al. 294). Tallmadge had proposed that no more slaves would be brought to Missouri, and there would be gradual abolishing of slavery in slavery. Unlike northern politicians, Southerners opposed the amendment, which resulted in attempts to reconcile differences leading to the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
The source further highlights that sectional power would influence the Union’s direction and slavery was one of the most contentious issues. Adding Missouri to the Union would tilt power towards slaveholding states in Congress and further grow the North and South divide. Among the Northerners, opposition to the Compromise was a political and moral issue, while it was a political and economic issue among the southerners. There was a balance in the Senate following the Compromise as Missouri was admitted as a slave state, unlike Maine. There were now 12 slaves and 12 non-slaveholding states.
Tallmadge’s proposal for Missouri’s admission into the Union was to prohibit more slaves in Missouri and free the childre...