Really confused about the Missouri compromise?

by thatryry0

If the compromise was to ban slavery north of the southern border of MO, why then were MO, KY, VA, MD, & DE all slave states?

8BallTiger

It pertained to the western territories, rather than states that were already in existence.

vinco_et_praevaleo

The Missouri Compromise forbade slavery north of 36'30" N in any new states formed from what was the former Louisiana Territory, not in existing states. The chance of any ordinance banning slavery in states where it already existed was less than zero.

SOURCE: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llac&fileName=036/llac036.db&recNum=155