Question

How did northern voters respond to the passage of the Kansas Nebraska Act?

Answer 1

Hint: Kansas and Nebraska were separated from the rest of the region by the bill. Each territory must make its own decision about whether or not to allow slavery. President Abraham Lincoln was elected because he wanted the West to be free of slavery. Slavery may be decided at the regional level.

Complete answer:
-Northern voters respond to the passage of the Kansas Nebraska Act with nervousness.
-On May 30, 1854, the United States Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It gave people in the Kansas and Nebraska territories the power to determine whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. The Missouri Compromise of 1820, which abolished slavery north of 36°30 latitude, was repealed by the Act.
-Many in the North were outraged by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, believing the Missouri Compromise to be a long-standing binding agreement. It received a lot of support in the pro-slavery South.
Northerners were outraged by the Kansas-Nebraska Act because it overturned the Missouri Compromise, which had abolished slavery in the state.
-Following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, pro-slavery and anti-slavery backers raced to Kansas to influence the results of the state's first election since the legislation took effect. The election was won by pro-slavery settlers, but they were accused of bribery by anti-slavery settlers, who refused to recognize the results.
-Pro-slavery settlers declined to vote in another referendum contested by anti-slavery settlers. As a result, two opposing legislatures were formed within the Kansas territory.
-Anti-slavery forces led by John Brown soon erupted in violence. As the death toll increased, the territory gained the moniker "bleeding Kansas."
-Despite fierce opposition, the bill was eventually passed in May of 1854. The sacred 36°30' line had been crossed, and territory north of it was now open to common sovereignty. The people of the North were furious. The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed slavery to be established in the Kansas and Nebraska territories (shown in orange).

Note: In favor of the pro-slavery settlers, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent Federal troops to quell the unrest and disperse the anti-slavery legislature. A new election has been called. Once again, pro-slavery proponents were victorious, and they were accused of electoral fraud. As a result, Congress refused to accept the pro-slavery settlers' constitution, and Kansas was denied the right to become a state. Anti-slavery settlers eventually defeated pro-slavery settlers, and a new constitution was drafted. Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state on January 29, 1861, shortly before the Civil War broke out.