KANSAS – NEBRASKA

ACT OF 1854

BEFORE THE ACT

The Missouri

Compromise

•

The Missouri Compromise of
1820 was an agreement
between pro-slavery and
anti-slavery factions of the
US Congress. It prohibited
slavery in all territories
north of the 36°30′ parallel
on former Louisiana
Territory, except for the
proposed state of Missouri

•

The compromise is thought
to have postponed the Civil
War.

THE COMPROMISE OF 1850

•

It was essentially a package of 5 bills which settled the disputes
that arose after the US acquired new territories as a result of the
Mexican-American War of 1846-1848

•

Texas surrendered its claims to New Mexico and transferred its
debt to the US government

•

California was admitted to the Union as a free state

•

New Mexico and Utah territories could decide to become free or
slave states based on popular sovereignty

•

Fugitive Slave Act was more diligently enforced

•

Slave trade was prohibited in Washington, D.C.

Before the compromise

After the compromise

Pink: States
Orange: Territories
Grey: Other countries

KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT

•

The act created two new territories, which opened
up for settlement

•

It repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by
allowing there to be a popular sovereignty in
order to determine whether they wanted to be
free or slave states

•

It led to violent confrontations between pro- and
anti-slavery to clash in what became known as
Bleeding Kansas or Border War

•

Ultimately, it was one of the many causes of the
outbreak of the Civil War

Red: free states
Grey: slave
states
Green: territories

•

The transcontinental railroad played a major role
in the conflict over the bill, as organizing the
Kansas and Nebraska territories would mean the
first step towards building such railroad

•

Compromise of 1850 should be applied to
Nebraska – debate

•

Missouri Compromise finally ignored and later
officially repealed

•

Nebraska Territory divided into two – Kansas and
Nebraska

•

The final vote resulted in 113 to 100 in favor of
the bill

•

President Pierce signed the bill on May, 30

•

Pro- and anti-slavery activists crossed the border
into Kansas and were involved in violent clashes
with one another

•

The fighting ended with the adoption of the
Wyandotte Constitution and admission of Kansas
as a free state to the Union on January 29, 1861,
only a few months prior to the beginning of the
Civil War

•

The Kansas – Nebraska Act was one of the factors
which led to the outbreak of the Civil War

•

The nation divided

•

Abraham Lincoln opposed the act. It was
expressed in his ‘Peoria Speech’ in 1854 – it led to
him being more widely recognized for the first
time and set the stage for his future political
career