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The Kansas-Nebraska Act was a bill that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The bill was passed by the United States Congress in 1854 and signed into law by President Franklin Pierce.
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Introduction
In May 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The law created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and opened new lands for settlement. It divided the nation along sectional lines and led directly to the outbreak of the Civil War.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was born out of the debate over slavery in the western territories. In 1820, Congress had passed the Missouri Compromise, which admitted Missouri to the union as a slave state and barred slavery from all other western territory north of latitude 36° 30′ N. This line roughly coincided with the southern boundary of Ohio.
By 1850, however, there were already calls to Repeal the Missouri Compromise and allow settlers to choose for themselves whether or not to allow slavery in their territories. In 1854, Stephen Douglas came up with a plan to do just that. He proposed organizing Nebraska Territory along parallel lines with Kansas Territory (which had been organized in 1854), and allowing settlers in both territories to vote on the issue of slavery.
Background
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on May 30, 1854. The act allowed for the organization of the Kansas and Nebraska territories and repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The act was a victory for those who supported the expansion of slavery into the new territories.
The Missouri Compromise
In 1820, the United States had 24 states, with Missouri seeking to become the 25th. At the time, the balance between slave and free states was ten to fourteen in favor of the free states, a delicate equilibrium. The addition of Missouri as a slave state would upset that balance and give the South a majority in the Senate.
In an effort to maintain this equilibrium and prevent any further conflict over slavery, Congress came up with the Missouri Compromise. The deal was that Missouri would be admitted as a slave state and Maine would be admitted as a free state, keeping the balance in the Senate even. Additionally, it was agreed that all future states west of Missouri’s southern border would be free states.
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that defused a four-year confrontation among slavery supporters and opponents in the wake of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). The controversy initially centered on whether slavery would be permitted in the vast lands acquired from Mexico. But after several failed attempts at compromise, the issue had become one of whether the balance of power between slave and free states would be altered by the admission of California as a free state.
The Compromise of 1850 averted a constitutional crisis by defusing sectional tensions surrounding the issue of slavery. It also allowed for the admission of California as a free state, which significantly bolstered the power of the anti-slavery forces in Congress. The Fugitive Slave Act, which was included as part of the package, proved to be highly controversial and was a major factor in fuelling Northern opposition to slavery. Ultimately, the Compromise of 1850 did little to resolve the simmering tensions over slavery and merely served to postpone the Civil War for another decade.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was an American law passed in 1854 that created the Kansas and Nebraska Territories. The law was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and signed by President Franklin Pierce. The act was designed to appease both pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States by allowing popular sovereignty in the territories.
The Act’s Provisions
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was a law passed by the U.S. Congress in 1854 that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The act also allowed for the possibility of slavery in those territories, overturning the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had prohibited slavery in any territory west of Missouri.
The act was named for the two territories it created, but its most lasting impact was in opening up the possibility of slavery in all territories west of Missouri. This had a profound effect on the course of the American Civil War, which broke out just seven years later.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was authored by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, and it was passed by Congress over the objections of many northern Democrats and all northern Whigs (the name for the anti-slavery party at that time). The act’s passage also sparked violence in Kansas, where proslavery and antislavery settlers fought each other for control of the territory, in what came to be known as “Bleeding Kansas.”
The Act’s Impact
The Kansas-Nebraska Act had a profound impact on American history. The Act destroyed the delicate political balance that had been created by the Missouri Compromise. It inflamed sectional tensions and helped to bring about the Civil War.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act also had a lasting impact on the development of the American West. The Act opened up the region for white settlement and for the construction of railroads. It also led to the creation of two new states, Nebraska and Kansas.
Conclusion
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was a critical turning point in the history of the United States. The Act opened up two new territories, Kansas and Nebraska, to American settlement and allowed for the construction of a transcontinental railroad. The Act also led to increased tensions between the North and South, as each side rushed to gain control of the new territories. In the end, the Kansas-Nebraska Act hastened the split between the North and South and played a role in helping to bring about the Civil War.
