The struggle over the question was a long and bitter one, but finally both
the North and the South agreed to give up a part of what they wanted; that
is, they agreed upon a compromise. It was this: Missouri was to enter the
Union as a slave State, but slavery was not to be allowed in any part of
the Louisiana Purchase which lay north or west of Missouri. This was
called the Missouri Compromise (1820).
It was brought about largely through the eloquence and power of Henry
Clay, and because of his part in it he was called "the Great Peacemaker."
But Calhoun was one of the men who did not think the Missouri Compromise
was a good thing for the country. He therefore strongly opposed it.
The next clash between the free States and the slave States was caused by
the question of the tariff, or tax upon goods brought from foreign
countries. Not long after the Missouri Compromise was agreed upon,
Northern manufacturers were urging Congress to pass a high-tariff law.
They said that, inasmuch as factory labor in England was so much cheaper
than in this country, goods made in England could be sold for less money
here than our own factory-made goods, unless a law was passed requiring a
tax, or duty, to be paid upon the goods brought over.
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