What Are The Causes Of The Missouri Compromise

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Congress tried to avoid conflict by passing the Missouri Compromise in 1820. The Missouri Compromise divided the land into slave territories and free territories. Some people argued that you should be able to own slaves no matter where you lived, but some argued that slavery should be banned everywhere. Since the plan wasn’t working as well as they had expected, they later tried the principle of majority rule. This plan allowed settlers in each territory to vote on whether or not they should allow slavery there. This caused major conflict in the nation.
In 1857, a Supreme Court decision had the attention of the nation. A slave named Dred Scott had traveled to Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory with his slaveholder. Since slavery was illegal there, once they returned Scott argued that he was now a free person because of his past residence there. The Court ruled that slaves were property according to the Constitution, and that Congress could not prevent slaveholders from taking their slaves where they wanted to.
Change came after the Civil War. The North’s victory paved the way for the Thirteenth Amendment. “The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.” The Thirteenth Amendment was passed by
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States still had the power to determine who was or was not a citizen. Most states, in both the North and South, still denied citizenship to African Americans. The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted in 1868 and ensured citizenship for African Americans. It took the power of granting citizenship away from the states. The amendment did not ensure equal treatment. The Supreme Court ruled that State governments could not treat African Americans unfairly, but this did not prevent citizens and employers from discriminating against