Stephen A. Douglass proposed the Kansas-Nebraska
Act and it passed in 1854. The Kansas-Nebraska territory at the time was not
ready to apply for statehood, but Douglass urged for their admission. It
repealed the Missouri Compromise since new states were allowed to determine the
status of slavery with popular sovereignty. The people in the Kansas-Nebraska
territory were both equally torn on the issue of slavery and popular
sovereignty would not solve this issue. This led to a civil war within the
territory over this dispute known as “Bleeding Kansas.” Frederick wished for
the admission of these two states in order to have the Transcontinental Railroad
run through Illinois to allow his state to prosper economically. Kansas was
left in the open as land that could be bought by rich slave owners and becoming
the majority to vote for slavery in the territory was an issue.
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