The Missouri Compromise addressed the issue of free versus slave states in which territory?

• A. Louisiana Purchase
• B. Northwest Territory
• C. Mexican Cession
• D. Oregon Country

Answer: (A)

The issue being tested is how the United States used territorial boundaries to maintain a balance between free and slave states. The Missouri Compromise settled this by applying to lands from the Louisiana Purchase: it admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, and drew a line at 36°30′ north latitude across the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase, banning slavery north of that line while allowing it south of the line. This kept the legislative balance in the Senate for that era. The Northwest Territory had been organized earlier under different rules, and the Mexican Cession and Oregon Country were later areas with separate disputes, so they aren’t the focus here.