Past President John Quincy Adams said of the Missouri Compromise that it was “but a title page to a great and tragic volume.” Past President Thomas Jefferson remarked that the Missouri Compromise was “a fire bell in the night.” (or a warning bell). What are these two great men implying for the future of the nation? Why do they believe the Missouri Compromise is not going to solve anything? What is at the center of the controversy and why?
Please tell us what YOU think, and we'll be glad to comment on your ideas.
arguing that slavery will be a big part of the nation's future
It will be involved in future decisions and the issue of slavery itself is going to take an enormous amount of time to solve.
I think they are saying that a split n the union will lead to the destruction of the country. But I think the compromise would solve something. I still don't understand why they wouldn't
We still ended up with a Civil War. Many men died, and we almost ended up as two independent nations. At best, the Compromise put off a civil war for a few more years. And most people don't like compromises. No one gets what they really want.
The issue of slavery is still with us today, with racism still rampant in some areas.
John Quincy Adams and Thomas Jefferson were implying that the Missouri Compromise would not be a long-term solution for the issue of slavery in the United States. They believed that the compromise was merely a temporary fix, and that the deeper problem of slavery would continue to be a source of controversy and conflict in the future.
At the center of the controversy was the question of whether Missouri would be admitted to the Union as a slave state or a free state. This raised concerns about the balance of power between the slave states and the free states in Congress, as well as the overall expansion of slavery into new territories.
Adams and Jefferson likely believed that the Missouri Compromise was not going to solve anything because it did not address the underlying moral and political issues surrounding slavery. They recognized that the compromise merely delayed the inevitable conflict that would arise from the institution of slavery.
Indeed, their concerns proved to be valid as the tension between the North and South ultimately led to the American Civil War. The compromise did not resolve the deeply-rooted divisions over slavery, and instead, the nation paid a high price in terms of lives lost and the near dissolution of the Union.
It is important to note that the issue of slavery was highly contentious because it not only involved questions of human rights, but it also had significant economic and political implications. Slavery was deeply entwined with the Southern economy and social structure, while the Northern states increasingly saw it as a moral abomination. This fundamental disagreement over the institution of slavery fueled the controversy and made a long-lasting compromise difficult to achieve.
In summary, Adams and Jefferson believed that the Missouri Compromise was insufficient and temporary, and that the issue of slavery would continue to be a source of tension and conflict in the future. Their concerns were justified, as the compromise ultimately failed to resolve the deep-rooted divisions over slavery, eventually leading to the American Civil War.