On May 30, 1854, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas presented the Kansas-Nebraska Act that had a devastating impact on the Democratic Party and the stability of the Union. The bill aimed to organize the territory of Nebraska, which was the area North of Missouri where slavery was prohibited according to the terms of Missouri Compromise of 1820.
The Westward expansion of the nation continually threatened the shaky balance of power between pro-slavery states and free states. Congress had to make bargains and propose comprises to avert crisis between the North and the South. For example, the Compromise of 1850 admitted California to the Union as a free state. To placate slave-state politicians, who objected to the imbalance of power created by the addition of …show more content…
This completely undermined and contradicted the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which sought to phase out slavery in the expanding territories. Even Senator Douglas himself viewed the 1820 compromise as “a sacred thing, which no ruthless hand would ever be reckless enough to disturb.” But disturb it he did, to the outrage of all anti-slavery and free state proponents. The passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act also brought about violent conflicts and uprisings known as “Bleeding Kansas,” which pitted proslavery and free state activists against each other in bloody fights, which left 55 people dead. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2952.html The vote to pass Douglas’ Kansas-Nebraska Act divided the Democrats, with the North firmly against it and the South enthusiastically for it. This division among party members led to the formation of the Republican Party, who were determined to halt slavery’s expansion at all
The Westward expansion of the nation continually threatened the shaky balance of power between pro-slavery states and free states. Congress had to make bargains and propose comprises to avert crisis between the North and the South. For example, the Compromise of 1850 admitted California to the Union as a free state. To placate slave-state politicians, who objected to the imbalance of power created by the addition of …show more content…
This completely undermined and contradicted the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which sought to phase out slavery in the expanding territories. Even Senator Douglas himself viewed the 1820 compromise as “a sacred thing, which no ruthless hand would ever be reckless enough to disturb.” But disturb it he did, to the outrage of all anti-slavery and free state proponents. The passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act also brought about violent conflicts and uprisings known as “Bleeding Kansas,” which pitted proslavery and free state activists against each other in bloody fights, which left 55 people dead. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2952.html The vote to pass Douglas’ Kansas-Nebraska Act divided the Democrats, with the North firmly against it and the South enthusiastically for it. This division among party members led to the formation of the Republican Party, who were determined to halt slavery’s expansion at all