the Missouri Compromise
/ðə mɪˌzʊəri ˈkɒmprəmaɪz/
/ðə mɪˌzʊri ˈkɑːmprəmaɪz/
- the general name for several US laws passed in 1820-1 to end disputes between slave states and free states. Both groups wanted new states to follow their systems. According to the Compromise, Missouri joined the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It also declared that slaves would not be allowed in the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase. It was replaced in 1854 by the Kansas-Nebraska Act.