The Kansas-Nebraska Act
- William Pierce (the President) signed this act at the end of May 1854
- It was advance of Midwestern settlement
- Nebraska becomes a territory
- Stephen A. Douglas had ideas of a Pacific railroad and organization of Nebraska as ways to promote a continuous line of settlement between the Midwest and the Pacific
- The Nebraska bill "superseded" the Missouri Compromise and rendered it "void"
- Nebraska was split into two territories - Kansas and Nebraska
- The act gave no restrictions on slavery
The Surge of Free Soil
- Free soilers opposed slavery on moral grounds and rejected racist legislation
- Others were racist who opposed allowing any African-Americans, slave or free, into the West
- Free soilers believed the Kansas-Nebraska Act was a move to spread slavery to the entire North
The Whigs Disintegrate
The Collapse of the Second Party System
- The Kansas-Nebraska Act destroyed the Whig Party
- Northern Whigs want to blame democrats for the act to persuade free soil democrats to their side
- In state and congressional elections of 1854, democrats were defeated
- The Whigs failed to benefit
- Northern Whigs deeply divided between antislavery Whigs and conservations that were convinced that they must obey to the Compromise of 1850 to maintain itself as a national party
- Antislavery Whigs wanted to look for a new party
- By 1856 the new Republican Party would become home for most of these northern refuges from the traditional parties.
The Know-Nothing Party
- Evolved out of a secret nationalist organization, the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner
- The Know-Nothings were a political party that lasted about 10 years
- They advocated the abolition movement
- They had many former Whigs in their party
- Mainly in the North
- The got their name from the response of the members, when asked about is party's activities, they would respond "I know nothing".
The Origins of the Republican Party
- Created in the aftermath of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
- Started in the Northern States
- Won in every election from 1860-1880
- Almost failed as a party
- They lasted only because of the violence in Kansas (Bleeding Kansas)
- Republicans were antislavery
Blake Davidson
Kevin Maeda
James Landrus
Period 1