The Kansas-Nebraska Act was one of the most crucial events leading to the Civil War. In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act created territories for Kansas and Nebraska. This gave people a chance to move slavery to the Midwest. This put Kansas at the center of attention, as it would shift the balance between the North and the South. The territory we know as Kansas was better known as "Bleeding Kansas" because of all the violent clashes between the pro- and anti-slavery parties. The law divided the nation and steered it toward civil war. The law itself virtually nullified the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and that of 1850. The unrest sparked by the law divided both Democrats and the ignorant and gave rise to the Republican Party, thus dividing the United States into two major parties: the Republican Party. Republicans in the North and Democrats in the South. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Democratic Sen. Stephen Douglas of Illinois. He believed that this would bring peace to the battle between North and South; however, this only made things worse. Douglas called on the colonists to vote on whether or not slavery would be outlawed in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska (which became known as popular sovereignty). The newly formed Republican Party decided to move quickly to abolish the expansion of slavery. The reason the Kansas Territory was the center of attention was due to its geographic location and impeccable timing. The location was favored for slave owners because it was an ideal place to grow crops; in addition, it was next to another slave state, Missouri. Some people thought slavery should just extend to ...... middle of paper ......859. The Wyandotte Constitution, which stated that: “SEC. 6. There shall be no slavery in this State, nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime of which the party shall have been duly convicted. " was approved by a 2-to-1 electoral margin. The House of Representatives voted easily in favor of the bill by a vote of 134 to 73. However, there was some resistance in the Senate, which slightly delayed the transformation of Kansas into a state. On January 21, 1861, the United States Senate finally passed the bill and Kansas became a free state on January 29, 1861. Kansas was one of the most difficult territories to become a state and, thanks Through much hard work, and the determination of the Free-Staters, Kansas became the 34th state to enter the Union. If there had been something different, Kansas would have been completely different than it is today..