The admittance of Missouri to the Union sparked a national crisis. Describe the debates that led up to the final compromise. How does the Missouri Compromise illustrate that sectional issues would surely arise again?

The admittance of Missouri to the Union in 1820 sparked a national crisis due to the debate over whether it would enter as a free state or a slave state. This debate highlighted the growing sectional tensions between the North and the South over the issue of slavery.

The debates leading up to the final compromise centered around the balance of power in Congress between free and slave states. The North opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories, while the South argued for the protection of their economic and social system. The Missouri Compromise, proposed by Henry Clay, ultimately allowed Missouri to enter as a slave state while Maine entered as a free state, maintaining the balance of power in Congress. Additionally, it established a line at 36°30' north latitude, with slavery prohibited in any new territories north of this line.

The Missouri Compromise illustrates that sectional issues would surely arise again because it only temporarily resolved the tensions between the North and the South. The compromise did not address the underlying moral and economic differences between the two regions, and it merely postponed the inevitable conflict over the expansion of slavery. This foreshadowed the future debates and conflicts that would ultimately lead to the Civil War, demonstrating that sectional issues would continue to divide the nation.