Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Kansas-Nebraska Act was enacted in 1854 and caused conflicts to arise between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers. It was proposed by Stephen A. Douglas in order to organize western territories and new states. The act allowed the settlers of a new state or territory to decide whether or not slavery would be allowed in that new state using popular soverignty, instead of using latitude to decide.  Traditionally, latitude was used to determine the border between free and slave territory. This use of latitude was known as the Missouri Compromise, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act overturned it.  Douglas' plan was to create two territories from the Missouri area (Kansas and Nebraska). The more northern territory (Nebraska) being free and Kansas being a slave territory.  Both Kansas and Nebraska were north of the latitude line, therefore should have been free territories, but Douglas wanted to gain political support from the Southern States. The repercussions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act were that it divided the two major political parties of pro-slavery and anti-slavery and further aggravated the relationship between the North and South. Douglas did not gain much political support and was criticized for breaking the Missouri Compromise.  Many of Douglas supporters joined the anti-slavery republican party and the North and South were further divided.