Gienapp’s argument is that the Kansas-Nebraska Act is the main cause of the crisis. On the other hand, Anbinder argues that anti-Catholicism was the actual reasoning behind it. Both of theories discuss the Know Nothing Party, as well as the Democratic and the Republican parties. The real reasoning behind the Crisis of 1850 is the passing if the Kansas-Nebraska Act and everything that happened to fall behind it. The Kansas-Nebraska act posed a threat to the Northern states who had already wanted to abolish slavery. This act gave these two states the right to decide whether or not they would have the act of slavery banned within their borders. There were many who were against the Act but far more were for …show more content…
The “Northern Idea and Southern Safety” is almost impossible due to the fact that apprehension of the idea of change is becoming more apparent to them. As in the section “How the Union is to be dissolved”, this section about southern safety contains reasons as to why the idea of abolishing slavery is a poor choice and will only lead to more chaos among the states. The resistance to the Northern states is starting to make the Southern states more aggressive to the act of abolishing slavery. These sections of the book have shown how Gienapp’s argument was the most effective. They explain the overwhelming opinion of the American states on whether or not to make America a slave-free country.