Kansas-Nebraska+Act

1. When did it happen? 2. Provide relevant background to the event. 3. Who were the key people involved - and what were their roles? 4. Provide a one-paragraph summary of the important elements of this event/topic. 5. Identify and describe any/all key terms associated with this event/topic. 6. Explain the significance of the event - especially as it relates to worsening relationship between the North and South.
 * For your assigned topic, provide the following information...**

Stephen A. Douglas-Introuduced the bill || Republican party- Anti-Nebraska Whigs & Democrats who helped create this party by combining a mix of their political beliefs. ||
 * **Kansas-Nebraska Act** ||
 * **Question** || **Answer** ||
 * 1. || January 15, 1854 ||
 * 2. || Huge new territory known as Nebraska, Kansas, the western part of Iowa, and Misouri. This bill would prepare the way for new free states. Decided by popular sovereignty. ||
 * 3. || William Seward-One of the first people to convince the residence of the Nebraska-Kansas territory to one side of the argument, in this case slavery.
 * 4. || This act was formed over the debate created by whether the massive new territory, part of the Louisianna purchase, should be a slave state or a free state. Douglass proposed that the territory should be decided as a slave or free state by popular sovereignty in accordance to the citicens within its boundaries. The territory was also split into two states, Kansas and Nebraska; it was seen that Kansas was more likely to be declared as a slave state. In reaction to the act, the Whig party became divided and eventually dissappeared. On the other hand, the Democrat party also became divided in response to the act. People from either party who strongly opposed the act banded together and formed the Republican party in 1845. ||
 * 5. || Popular sovereignty-Decided by the people
 * 6. || It created more of a contraverse division between the debate over slavery between the North and South. It helped to create the Republican Party. ||

President Franklin Pierce--Was a key person who supported the Kansas-Nebraska Proposal ||
 * **Kansas-Nebraska Act** ||
 * **Question** || **Answer** ||
 * When did it happen? || It was accepted as a law in January, 1854. ||
 * Background Information || * Exposed conflicting interpretations of popular soverignty
 * Northerners and Southerners disagreed violently over what territorial settlers could constitutionally do
 * Bleeding Kansas became an American symbol of the sectional controversy
 * Kansas and Nebraska territories lay in Lousiana Purchase
 * Missouri Compromise stopped slavery in all land from latitude 36, 30' north to Canadian border
 * Southern congressman wanted explicit repeal of 36, 30' limitation
 * Stephen Douglas's bill opened slavery land that had been prohibited for 34 years
 * Whig party was torn apart which ultimately led to the formation of the Republican Party
 * Anti Nebraskan Whigs, Anti Nebraskan Democrats and Free Soilists made up the new Republican Party ||
 * Key people || Stephan A. Douglas--Came up with the Kansas-Nebraska Proposal
 * Summary || Stephan A. Douglas came up with the Kansas Nebraska Proposal in order to help him get the Southerners votes for the Transcontinental Railroad. ||
 * Key terms || Popular Sovereignty--Voting on whether or not slavery should be allowed in the Kansas-Nebraska territories and the vote was up to the people ||
 * Significance || This lead to the worsening of the North and South's relationship because the Kansas-Nebraska Act added even more tension. Also, it destroyed the Whig party and split the Democratic party, too. ||


 * **Kansas-Nebraska Act** ||
 * **Question** || **Answer** ||
 * 1. || It happened in January of 1854. ||
 * 2 || * Southerners wanted to expand slave territory, and the north were extremely against expanding the slave territory.
 * President Pierce called Kansas Abolitionists traitors
 * Bleeding kansas was a symbol of the secionalism debate. ||
 * 3 || * James Gadsden- wanted the route to go through Texas and New Mexico to the pacific ocean
 * Stephen Douglas- supported a plan to wind the railroad through chicago and nebrsaka territory; he introduced the kansas nebraska bill the split the territory in 2 sections, and also repealed the missouri compromise.
 * Jefferson Davis- sent Gadsden to buy the last part of New Mexico to build a transcontinential railroad. ||
 * 4 || The kansas nebraska act applied the principle of popular sovereignty to voters and the kansas and nebraska territories, allowing them to decide for themselves whether to permitt slavery in their territories. The act repudiated the missouri copromise of 1820 which had prohibited slavery in the territory of the louisiana purchase north the 36 30 line. ||
 * 5 || * popular soveriegnty- The territories got to choose if they wanted slavery or not. ||
 * 6 || It created the republican party that we have today because the northern whigs were outraged at the southerns complete approval of going against the missouri compromise. Secionalism was worsened because the north and the south ended up disagreeeing even more about slavery, and the south threatened to ceceed, and eventually did.

Robert Blank, Brandon Caires, Olivia M, Stephanie Sales ||