Which statement describes the Missouri Compromise?

Which statement describes the Missouri Compromise?

• A. Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state at the same time, to balance slave and free states
• B. Abolished slavery in new territories
• C. Created a federal slave code
• D. Ended slavery in the United States

Answer: (A)

The Missouri Compromise was about keeping the Senate balanced between free and slave states while managing how slavery would expand into new territories. Admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state in the same moment preserved the numerical balance between free and slave states in Congress. It also established a geographic boundary—36°30′ north—stipulating that slavery would be prohibited in the territories north of that line (with Missouri itself as a southern exception) and permitted south of it. This combination was designed to ease tensions between free and slave sections as new lands were organized. The other statements don’t fit: the plan did not abolish slavery in new territories, did not create a federal slave code, and did not end slavery nationwide.

The Missouri Compromise was about keeping the Senate balanced between free and slave states while managing how slavery would expand into new territories. Admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state in the same moment preserved the numerical balance between free and slave states in Congress. It also established a geographic boundary—36°30′ north—stipulating that slavery would be prohibited in the territories north of that line (with Missouri itself as a southern exception) and permitted south of it. This combination was designed to ease tensions between free and slave sections as new lands were organized. The other statements don’t fit: the plan did not abolish slavery in new territories, did not create a federal slave code, and did not end slavery nationwide.