Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Kansas–Nebraska Act was an Act of Congress in 1854 organizing the remaining territory within the Louisiana Purchase for settlement before its admission to the Union. It was contrived by and passed by those legislators who favored the political standpoint of the use of popular sovereignty to decide if a territory would be open to slavery. Its passage only exacerbated the rift between the Northern and Southern states over the issue of slavery and added fuel to the fire that became the American Civil War.

President Buchanan

President James Buchanan sent the Lecompton constitution to Congress for approval. The Senate approved the admission of Kansas as a state under the Lecompton constitution, despite the opposition of Senator Douglas, who believed that the Kansan referendum on the Constitution, by failing to offer the alternative of prohibiting slavery, was unfair. The measure was subsequently blocked in the House of Representatives, where Northern Congressmen refused to admit Kansas as a slave state. Senator James Hammond of South Carolina (famous for his "King Cotton" speech) characterized this resolution as the expulsion of the state, asking, "If Kansas is driven out of the Union for being a slave state, can any Southern state remain within it with honor?"

Related Topics:
James Buchanan - Lecompton constitution - Congress - Senate - House of Representatives - James Hammond - South Carolina - King Cotton

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