douglas was the main force behind the kansas nebraska act.
who was the main force behind the kansas nebraska act?
douglas
kansas–nebraska act





























the kansas–nebraska act of 1854 () was an organic act that created the territories of kansas and nebraska. it was drafted by democratic senator stephen a. douglas, passed by the 33rd united states congress, and signed into law by president franklin pierce. douglas introduced the bill with the goal of opening up new lands to development and facilitating construction of a transcontinental railroad, but the kansas–nebraska act is most notable for effectively repealing the missouri compromise, stoking national tensions over slavery, and contributing to a series of armed conflicts known as "bleeding kansas".
kansas–nebraska act
the kansas–nebraska act divided the nation and pointed it toward civil war. congressional democrats suffered huge losses in the mid-term elections of 1854, as voters provided support to a wide array of new parties opposed to the democrats and the kansas-nebraska act. by 1855, opponents of the kansas–nebraska act had coalesced into the republican party, which replaced the whigs as the main opposition to the democrats in the northern states, although some democratic opponents instead joined the nativist american party. pierce declared his full opposition to the republican party, decrying what he saw as its anti-southern stance, but his perceived pro-southern actions in kansas continued to inflame northern anger.
kansas–nebraska act