Chapter 41: Douglas Launches His 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act to Try to Open the West

A frustrated Douglas makes another attempt at gaining Southern support for opening the Iowa Territory.

He does so by passing his 1854 Act which splits Iowa into two new Territories, Nebraska and Kansas. As part of this, he cleverly slips in a provision calling for his “popular sovereignty” scheme to determine Free State vs. Slave State preferences.

But this attempted finesse reneges on the precedent set in the 1820 Missouri Compromise which mandates that the 36’30” boundary line shall apply to all land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase.

Once the spotlight shines on this change, the bill becomes a lightning rod for his Northern opponents.