The instability of the Missouri Compromise created increased tensions and divisions between the Northern and Southern states in the United States. It further increased the conflict over the issue of slavery, which would eventually lead to the American Civil War. The compromise’s failure to address the long-term issue of slavery in the territories fueled the growing abolitionist movement in the North and intensified Southern demands for the expansion of slavery into new territories. This instability and political disagreement ultimately furthered the divide between the Northern and Southern states, contributing to the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.
