Worksheet4: Evaluating historical policies
Date: _September 30, 2001 Group Members: ____John Doe_____________________
Your
problem (phrase): An increase in sectional conflicts
resulting from Missouri's admission to the Union.
1. State one of the major historical policies that attempted to deal with
the social problem:
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 allowed the entry of
Maine into the union as a free state along with the entry of Missouri as a
slave state. Slavery was to be excluded
in any other territories north of the 36 30’ parallel.
2. What were the advantages of this policy (consider effectiveness,
intended and unintended consequences, costs, enforcement, public acceptance):
The Missouri Compromise temporarily kept the number
of slave and free states equal, which meant there
would be equal representation in the U.S. Senate.
3. What were the disadvantages of this policy? (consider
effectiveness, intended and unintended consequences costs, enforcement, public
acceptance):
The Missouri Compromise was viewed, even at the
time, as a temporary compromise, and the question of slavery would remain at
the forefront of American politics in the coming decades.
4. Based on your evaluation of the
advantages and disadvantages, should a different policy have been
implemented? Explain.
At the time of the Missouri Compromise, the southern
states still had concomitant power (both politically and economically) with the
northern states. The preservation of the
union was the preeminent concern among politicians at this time.