Stephen
A. Douglas
In
1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which
organized the remaining territory acquired in the
Louisiana Purchase so that such territories could
be admitted to the Union as states.
Probably
the most important result of the Kansas-Nebraska
Act was its language concerning the contentious
issue of slavery. Proposed by Stephen A. Douglas,
and signed by president Franklin Pierce, the bill
divided the region into two territories. Territory
north of the 40th parallel was called Nebraska Territory,
and territory south of the 40th parallel was called
Kansas Territory. The most controversial aspect
of the Kansas-Nebraska Act was that each territory
would decide for themselves whether or not to permit
slavery. This stipulation repealed the Missouri
Compromise of 1820 which stated that slavery was
prohibited north of 36° 30'.
As
there was more support for slavery in Kansas, both
pro-slavery and anti-slavery advocates organized
teams of people to settle in the state. Not surprisingly,
the area became a battleground for both sides, and
the resulting violence caused the territory to be
referred to as "Bleeding Kansas," and
was one of the first major causes of the Civil War.
Eventually, on January 29, 1861, after much controversy,
Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state
- just months before the first shots of the Civil
War were fired.
