What was the significance of the Missouri Compromise (1820)?

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was significant because it sought to maintain the balance of power between slave states and free states in the Union. When Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state, it threatened to upset the delicate balance that existed at the time, with 11 slave and 11 free states. The compromise allowed Missouri to enter as a slave state while Maine was admitted as a free state, thereby preserving the equilibrium between the two factions. This balancing act was crucial in delaying the sectional tensions that would ultimately lead to the Civil War, as it provided a temporary solution to the contentious issue of slavery's expansion into the western territories.