During the Missouri debates, Thomas Jefferson expressed the fear that that "question, like a firebell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror." Why? What was at stake in the Missouri debate that generated such profound concern even though it involved the admission of only one or two states to the Union?

The correct answer to this open question is the following.

Although there are no options attached we can say the following.

During the Missouri debates, Thomas Jefferson expressed the fear that that "question, like a fireball in the night, awakened and filled me with terror." Why? What was at stake in the Missouri debate that generated such profound concern even though it involved the admission of only one or two states to the Union?

What was at stake was the controversy over slavery in the territories.

In the early 19th century, there used to be a dichotomy of American society's attitudes about slavery, and this was reflected in the passage of the Missouri Compromise.

The context of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was that there were many problems with slavery in the states. Some approved and depended on slavery, others -mostly the Northern states- disapproved and supported desegregation. In 1819, Missouri was asked to enter the Union as a slave state, breaking the balance between supporters and non-supporters. By passing the Missouri compromise, the US Congress to have an option to soothe the complicated situation. It granted the Missouri request, and at the same time, Main was admitted as a free state.

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