<P> The Kansas -- Nebraska Act of 1854 ( 10 Stat. 277 ) created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and President Franklin Pierce . The initial purpose of the Kansas -- Nebraska Act was to open up thousands of new farms and make feasible a Midwestern Transcontinental Railroad . The popular sovereignty clause of the law led pro - and anti-slavery elements to flood into Kansas with the goal of voting slavery up or down , resulting in Bleeding Kansas . </P>
<P> The Kansas -- Nebraska Act of 1854 ( 10 Stat. 277 ) created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois and President Franklin Pierce . The initial purpose of the Kansas -- Nebraska Act was to open up thousands of new farms and make feasible a Midwestern Transcontinental Railroad . The popular sovereignty clause of the law led pro - and anti-slavery elements to flood into Kansas with the goal of voting slavery up or down , resulting in Bleeding Kansas . </P>
who was the main force behind the kansas nebraska act
who was the main force behind the kansas nebraska act
Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois President Franklin Pierce
Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois President Franklin Pierce