Under the Missouri Compromise, which state was admitted as a free state?

Under the Missouri Compromise, which state was admitted as a free state?

• A. Missouri
• B. Maine
• C. Arkansas
• D. West Virginia

Answer: (B)

Balancing free and slave states in Congress was the central idea of the Missouri Compromise. To maintain an even split, Missouri entered as a slave state while Maine was admitted at the same time as a free state. This pairing kept the number of free and slave states equal in both the Senate and the country as a whole. Arkansas and West Virginia aren’t part of this arrangement—Arkansas joined later as a slave state, and West Virginia became a free state much later during the Civil War era. So, Maine is the state admitted as a free state under this compromise.

Balancing free and slave states in Congress was the central idea of the Missouri Compromise. To maintain an even split, Missouri entered as a slave state while Maine was admitted at the same time as a free state. This pairing kept the number of free and slave states equal in both the Senate and the country as a whole. Arkansas and West Virginia aren’t part of this arrangement—Arkansas joined later as a slave state, and West Virginia became a free state much later during the Civil War era. So, Maine is the state admitted as a free state under this compromise.