The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, allowing slavery in the territory north of the 36° 30´ latitude. The act stipulated that the issue of slavery would be decided by the residents of each territory, a concept known as popular sovereignty. Texas Senator Sam Houston was one of the few southern opponents of the act. In the debate he urged, Maintain the Missouri Compromise! Stir not up agitation! Give us peace! In the Senate, the final vote in favor of passage was 37 to 14 with the House also passing the bill, 113 to 100. When the bill passed on May 30, 1854, violence erupted in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers; a prelude to similar conflicts across the region that exploded in civil war in seven years.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 12:30:00 +0000
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