The Missouri Compromise and the Nullification Crisis were both very notable events in American history. The importance of both lies not only in the events themselves, but also in the period in which they occurred and what they foreshadowed. In short, the Missouri Compromise was an act of Congress passed in 1820 between the two factions of the United States Congress, namely the pro-slavery faction and the anti-slavery factions. The compromise primarily concerned the regulation of slavery in the western territories of the United States. Although he banned slavery in the Louisiana Purchase Territory north of 36 to 30 degrees latitude, he provided an exception for Missouri. The nullification crisis arose during the presidency of Andrew Jackson and was precipitated by the South Carolina Nullification Ordinance of 1832. In short, South Carolina, in this ordinance, challenged the power of the federal government to impose federal tariffs. He declared the federal tariffs of 1828 and 1832 illegal in South Carolina. Thus, the Nullification Crisis focused on states' rights, while the Missouri Compromise focused on slavery. Although the reasons for the Nullification Crisis and the Louisiana Compromise differ, they both resulted from the growing tension in America in the early 1800s. At that time, the country was struggling to agree on very important issues and this was manifested in the occurrence of these and other events. The Missouri Compromise was more important than the Nullification Crisis because the issue of slavery had arisen repeatedly and led to many conflicts in U.S. history. It also challenged the federal government's right to...... middle of paper ......ri The compromise allowed different states to be part of the Union while preserving their socio-economic base. These two divergent points of view were not tenable within a union. Jefferson's statement "[t]his momentous question, like a bell of fire in the night, roused me and filled me with terror" was accurate, in the sense that it foreshadowed the disunion of the states. Allowing Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, and others as free states, was actually the catalyst for a major conflict between Americans who believed in the abolition of slavery. The Missouri Compromise also signaled the emergence of the doctrine of nullification due to conflicts arising from various factions within the Union. The nullification doctrine that allowed states to determine which federal law to follow defeated the purpose of having a union. Works CitedHenretta, History.com, Yahoo Answers