William P. Preble to William King regarding Missouri Compromise, Portland, 1820
Although delighted by the arrival of statehood for Maine, Preble expressed his disgust with the circumstances in which it was eventually achieved.Maine Historical Society
In October, 247 delegates representing all 236 incorporated towns in the state travelled to the Cumberland Country courthouse in Portland to write a new Maine constitution. Because Republicans had generally led the push for separation while Federalists had opposed it, it was Republicans who overwhelmingly attended the Maine Constitutional Convention. Among the important manners discussed were universal suffrage for all men over 21, the power of the legislative branch and representation in the legislature from small towns.[32] Throughout the waning months of 1819, the delegates continued to draft a new Maine constitution to prepare it for statehood. On December 8, 1819, John Holmes officially petitioned Congress for Maine's admission.
Map of the State of Maine, 1820
Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education
Within the United States, a greater sectional debate over slavery overshadowed the admittance of Maine as a state. As per the will of its residents and its newly drafted constitution, Maine would enter the Union as a free state. To proponents of slavery in the South, however, this would cause an imbalance in the ratio of free-to-slave states, which was split equally at eleven states each. In order to avoid a sectional crisis, Southern senators were able to link Maine's approval with that of Missouri—a pro-slavery state—and agree upon a provision to keep the Union united by prohibiting slavery in the former Louisiana Territory above the 36°30' line.[33]
Initiated by Speaker of the House Henry Clay, the Missouri Compromise, as it was known, was tough to swallow for many Mainers. Separation was always a question of calculations and pragmatism; now, it was now a question of morality. Overwhelmingly against slavery by 1820, most Mainers looked at the Missouri Compromise with anger. Yet for those who were involved in the struggle for separation for nearly 40 years, they were hesitant to let their greatest opportunity fail.
Proclamation of statehood, 1820
Statehood at last! Written by William King—Maine's first governor—on March 16, 1820. Maine Historical Society
The irony of this situation, however, had little impact on the closed-door politics in Washington in 1820. Despite an initial pushback by leading abolitionists and organizers in Maine, most statesmen decided that immediate independence was more important than fighting the deep-seeded evils of slavery.[34] Resultantly, on March 6th, President Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise, and on March 15th, Maine became the twenty-third state in the Union. William King, an outspoken leader and Senator who tirelessly advocated for separation, became Maine's first governor.
[32] For more on the process and matters discussed in the convention, see Banks, Maine Becomes a State, 148-183 and Webb, Lee, “Maine’s Constitution: A Document Made by Men at a Specific Time.”
[33] For a thorough analysis of the Missouri Compromise, Maine’s position within the compromise, as well as the tumult that came of it, see Mason, Matthew, “The Maine and Missouri Crisis: Competing Priorities and Northern Slavery Politics in the Early Republic,” Journal of the Early Republic, vol. 33, no. 4 (Winter 2013), pp. 675-700, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press). See also, Hatch, Maine, 188-202.
[34] For further details on this debate and the opinions of Maine politicians and national figures, see Banks, Maine Becomes a State, 188-204.
