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The Controversy Of The Kansas-Nebraska Act

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Understand how the controversy of the Kansas-Nebraska Act led to the birth of the modern day Republican Party. The controversy of the Kansas-Nebraska Act that was passed on May 20, 1854, was regarding the practice of popular sovereignty which allowed the white people in the two territories to vote if they desired to allow slavery or abolish slavery. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was introduced by Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois who wanted to build a transcontinental railroad through Chicago. However, it violated the Missouri compromise which prohibited the practice of slavery on the Louisiana Purchase north of the latitude 36°30′. With the purpose of increasing votes and winning a majority, the north and south crossed the border into the two territories to vote for or against slavery. The northerners were called Free-Soilers and the southerners were called border ruffians. Thus, several conflicts arose between the two sides which led to the …show more content…
The new party was mainly led by anti-slavery Whigs and some northern anti-slavery Democrats. The main focus of the Republican Party was preventing the practice of slavery into the new expanding territories. They also showed interest in federal funding for the transcontinental railroad and other transportation improvements. Due to slavery, they were trying the keep the Missouri Compromise from repealing. The first Republican candidate running for president election lost against the Democrat James Buchanan. In the election of 1860, the Republican Abraham Lincoln won the election. A surprising fact is that he did not get any votes from the south. He believed that slavery can’t be just stopped at once, but it should not be able to spread in the new territories. However, the southern misunderstand President Abraham Lincoln and considered him as a danger against the practice of slavery. Thus, the southern criticized the Abraham Lincoln’s

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