Kansas-Nebraska Act

Kansas-Nebraska Act, bill passed by the U.S. Congress (1854) to establish the territories of Nebraska and Kansas. Territorial organization of this region had been stalled due to conflict over slavery and the routes of the transcontinental railroad. The proposed Missouri Compromise, which would have organized the area as one territory but would not have allowed slavery in the region, was not supported by the South, and was defeated at every presentation. As a compromise, Sen. Stephen Douglas proposed the creation of 2 territories, each to decide the slavery question for itself. As both North and South flooded the territories with settlers in an attempt to establish control, the conflict escalated, culminating in the Civil War.

See also: Slavery; Civil War, U.S.