d territories. The North wanted to limit the number of slave states in the Union in order to obtain a majority in the congressional vote. But many Southerners felt that a government dominated by free states could endanger existing slave holdings. The first evidence of the Norths actions came in 1819 when Missouri asked to be admitted to the Union as a slave state. After months of discussion Congress passed the Missouri Compromise of 1820. This compromise was a legislative measure that regulated the extension of slavery in the United States for three decades. Now the balance of 11 free states and 11 slave states was in trouble. Maine also applied for statehood in 1819, in which it was admitted as a free state. Slavery would be prohibited forever from Louisiana purchased territories north of 36 30'. Southern extremists opposed any limit on the extension of slavery, but settled for now. Missouri and Maine were to enter statehood simultaneously to preserve sectional equality in the Senate. For almost a generation this compromise seemed to settle the conflict between the North and South. The monumental balance of power was severely shifted in 1848 when the Union acquired a huge piece of territory from Mexico. This opened new opportunities for the spread of slavery for Southerners. The distribution of these lands in small lots speeded the development of this section, and made the area especially important. Congress subsequently passed the Compromise Measures of 1850. This piece of legislation dealt mainly with the question of whether slavery was to be allowed or prohibited in the regions acquired from Mexico as a result of the Mexican War. This compromise allowed people into the slave trade in the District of Columbia and admission of California as a free state. Another part of the compromise was the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which provided for the return of runaway slaves to their masters. But many free states in the Union passed personal ...
