Kansas Nebraska Act Research Paper

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Pages: 3

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 stands as one of the pivotal moments leading to the Civil War, representing a break in the fragile peace brought forth by the Compromise of 1850. While the Compromise of 1850 aimed to lower tensions between the North and South by addressing territorial and slavery disputes, its effectiveness was short-lived and ultimately failed to resolve the underlying issues between the North and South. The admission of California as a free state and the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Act provided temporary relief but also deepened the ideological divide between the two regions, setting the stage for future conflicts. The compromise of 1850 was aimed to help lower the tensions between the North and the South. The compromise …show more content…
Douglas. This destroyed the fragile peace between the North and South that was established by the compromise of 1850. This also brought forward popular sovereignty which allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide on slavery for themselves which repealed the Missouri act of 1820. This decision reignited the debate over the expansion of slavery and sparked many violent conflicts between anti-slavery and pro-slavery settlers. One example of this is bleeding Kansas, this happened after the Kansas-Nebraska act and was a time of guerrilla warfare between anti-slavery and pro-slavery settlers in Kansas. One of the most infamous moments of Bleeding Kansas occurred when abolitionist John Brown and his followers forcibly evicted pro-slavery settlers from their homes, resulting in the brutal murder of five individuals. Bleeding Kansas showed the failure of Popular Sovereignty and the tensions between the north and south escalated because of these events. The Republican party was formed in opposition to these events by anti-slavery groups who opposed the expansion of slavery. The Kansas Nebraska act served as a call to people opposing slavery and solidified the political party they were apart of and opposition of the pro-slavery democratic