Kansas-Nebraska Act and “Bleeding Kansas.” People shoot at each other. A Senator is going to get beaten by a cane. In his office. He’s going to get brain damage. But politics are rough today, mmmmhmmmm.

Label the left side “Causes” Label the right side “Effects” Get out a sheet of paper. Fold it in half. Label the left side “Causes” Label the right side “Effects”

Great! Look at how smart you are! Now, research “The Kansas- Nebraska Act” and fill in your sheet.

Let’s back up… So, part of the Compromise of 1850 was that the territories of New Mexico and Utah would use Popular Sovereignty to decide if they would be slave or free. This was still sort of consistent with the Missouri Compromise line of 36 degrees latitude. Both states would be below that line, thus eligible to be slave states

The “Unorganized” territory. The huge territory right in the middle of America was referred to as the “Nebraska” territory. Stephen Douglas, Senator from Illinois, wanted to set it up to become more organized.

Why? The Transcontinental Railroad was being built and he wanted the Eastern hub of it to be in Chicago, his hometown. Southerners wanted the Eastern hub to be closer to the South, like in St. Louis or Memphis. A deal had to be made.

The Controversy Douglas was a huge proponent of Popular Sovereignty and he felt that all new territories should have this option. The only problem was, most of the Nebraska territory was OVER THE 36 degree parallel line so that meant it could not become a slave state.

How do we get around this? Douglas made a deal with Southern Senators to repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820, thus lifting the ban on possible slave states above the 36 parallel line. This was called the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, and it passed Congress with the support of President Franklin Pierce.

Northerners are outraged! Southerners rejoice! By doing this, this left the door open for slavery above that line, in the North, if the settlers of the territory voted to be a slave state. Southerners love this idea because it left the door open for slavery above the 36 latitude line if the settlers voted to be a slave state.

“Bleeding Kansas.” Since the territory was still a territory, settlers from the North flocked to Kansas so that they could vote “no” on slavery when it came time for them to be admitted as a state. By 1855 Kansas is ready to vote……

“Border Ruffians!” Ohhhhh nooooooooo! These were men from Missouri who came over, with their guns, and voted illegally FOR slavery in Kansas. Their votes tipped the scales in favor of Kansas becoming a slave state, and a pro slavery government was established.

And then another government was formed.. Abolitionists were not going down without a fight. They established their own separate government, so now you had two competing governments operating in Kansas. Franklin Pierce only recognized the Pro Slavery government.

Sack of Lawrence Antislavery government had made its home in Lawrence. The Proslavery government indicted everyone in the town as a “traitor,” and sent a posse to go arrest them. The posse burned houses, destroyed newspaper buildings, and burned down the antislavery headquarters.

The POTTAWATOMIE Massacre This is where we first meet John Brown John Brown was a staunch abolitionist, and he was upset about the Sack of Lawrence. Him and his friends went to Pottawatomie, a proslavery town, grabbed five men, cut their hands off, and stabbed them to death with swords. Yikes.

“Bleeding Kansas” John Brown fled Kansas after that, but his followers remained. Over the next few years there were constant violent outbursts throughout the state, giving it the nickname “Bleeding Kansas.”

Violence in the Senate This is a great story…. Charles Sumner was a Senator from Massachusetts and a staunch abolitionist. In May of 1855 he delivered a speech called “The Crime Against Kansas.” For two days he railed against the proslavery senators, particulary Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina. Butler was very old, and had a speech impairment, and Sumner made fun of each.

Oh no you didn’t…. Butler’s nephew, Congressman Preston Brooks, walks into Sumner’s office one day. He calmly says that Senator Sumner’s speech was libel against South Carolina, and his uncle. He then proceeded to beat Senator Sumner over the head repeatedly with his cane. Sumner suffered brain damage and didn’t return to the Senate for 3 years. ‘Murica