Textbook
David C. King, Norman McRae, and Jaye Zola, The United States and Its People (Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1993), 293.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act passed May 1854. It did away with the Missouri Compromise line, since the territories could opt to allow slavery north of the 36°30'. Many northerners denounced the act. They were outraged that a restriction on the extension of slavery had been repealed.
After the Act went into effect, both proslavery and antislavery people raced to settle the Kansas Territory. Many of these "settlers" stayed just along enough to vote for the territory's new legislature, which would decide whether slavery would be allowed. "we are playing for a mighty stake," a southern senator said. "If we win, we carry slavery to the Pacific Ocean."
After the Act went into effect, both proslavery and antislavery people raced to settle the Kansas Territory. Many of these "settlers" stayed just along enough to vote for the territory's new legislature, which would decide whether slavery would be allowed. "we are playing for a mighty stake," a southern senator said. "If we win, we carry slavery to the Pacific Ocean."
Links
Depicted ContentKansas-Nebraska Act