erms of the Missouri Compromise, the fact that he and Dr. Emerson lived in Illinois and Minnesota made him a free man. The Missouri Compromise did not allow slavery in whatever territory that remained from the Louisiana Purchase north of a specific line, 36o 30' of north latitude.
             At this time the issue of slavery was a major concern. The Mexican War provided the United States with a lot of new territory, and the question of the future of slavery in the territories was on everyones mind. The people of the North who were against slavery wanted Congress to prohibit slavery in the territories.
             John C. Calhoun, the spokesman for the South, said that Congress did not have the right to prohibit slavery in the territories. The Southern attempt to extend the line of the Missouri Compromise failed, so their only hope was Calhoun's constitutional criticism of Congress' attempt to prohibit slavery in the territories.This was why they plunged themselves completely behind Calhoun's ideas. Calhoun argued that the territories were "the common property of the states of this Union. They are called the' territories of the United States,' and what are the ' United States' but the States united? Sir, these territories are the property of the States united; held jointly for their common use." This statement beautifully illustrates how extreme the Southern view of state sovereignty was. It was the Southern belief that the states should have the right to declare slavery in their states and it is beyond congressional power to prohibit slavery.
             Southerners believed that their very existence depended on an equal amount of sla
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