The Missouri Compromise was a bill passed in 1820 that put an invisible line on the 36°30' parallel. The intention of the bill was to try to defuse the intense sectionalism caused by the heated opinions of slavery. The South had a need for slavery because their entire economic situation relied on cotton picking. They would purchase slaves off the market and use them almost as if they were modern day tools, simply picking cotton and existing. The problems arose with this issue when new states were applying to the country and the government had to decide whether or not to make them slave states. Missouri at the time was the only state applying so they had to decide on the opinion of slavery. They could not simply allow it in as a slave state because doing that would make it seem as if the government was pro-slavery, angering the North. They also couldn't just make it a free state because by doing that they would anger the South, making it seem as if they were anti-slavery and possibly leading to secession. In an attempt to appease both sides they decided to allow both Missouri in as a slave state and Maine in as a free state. Along with allowing these two states in, the imaginary line was drawn that banned all expansion of slavery on the North side of it. The writers of this bill believed that by giving both sides of the country something they want, that they would both be pleased. Unfotunately for them, they could never have predicted the outrage that came with this bill. Both sides had legitimate reasons to be scared and they expressed them with public outcry. The South began to worry about the amount of power the government was showing it had by passing this. The government was limiting slavery and showing that it could, at any point it wanted to, change the laws around slavery, opening up the doors for a possible future ban on it. On the other hand the North was angry because they believed the government had sided with slavery on this one by allowing it to expand. The North did not want slavery in Missouri and believed the land to the West was also now open to it, this scared them. With both sides of the country now even more angry than they were before the bill was passed the government had to act fast or else the divides would eventually reach a point so high that secession would happen, just like when ended up happening.