How did the issue of Kansas reflect the growing division between North and South?
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/divided-kansas-enters-the-union
I am still not sure how I would put the answer into words. ):
I'm not going to do that for you. Read the article! It explains how the Southern states wanted Kansas to be a slave state and the compromise that resulted in 1854, leading to the admission of Kansas as a "free" state in 1861.
I already read the article! I'm just not sure how to form an answer with the information given to me. I was hoping for a little more guidance, not for you to write the answer for me.
The North and South were divided on the questions of states' rights and slavery. Kansas emphasized this division when . . .
Violence broke out after the Kanas-Nebraska Act was passed?
Yes. Now explain what this act was and why and where the violence occurred.
And explain why the Kansas-Nebraska Act was necessary in the first place.
The issue of Kansas reflected the growing division between the North and South primarily due to the conflict over the expansion of slavery into new territories.
To understand how Kansas became a focal point of the North-South divide, it's important to know the context. In the mid-1800s, the United States was expanding westward, and the question of whether new states would allow or prohibit slavery became a highly contentious issue. The North was generally against the spread of slavery, seeing it as morally wrong and incompatible with their vision of a free society. On the other hand, the South, with its agrarian economy heavily dependent on slave labor, wanted to extend slavery to new territories to maintain their power and economic interests.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 exacerbated this division. It was an attempt to organize the territory west of Missouri and Iowa, known as the Kansas Territory, into states. The act allowed the new states to vote on whether to allow or prohibit slavery based on popular sovereignty, which meant that the residents would decide the issue through democratic means.
However, the introduction of popular sovereignty led to intense conflicts between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions who migrated to Kansas Territory with the aim of influencing the outcome. Both sides aggressively campaigned and competed to increase their numbers in order to secure the majority of votes and ensure the territory's future as a free or slave state.
These clashes quickly turned violent, resulting in what became known as "Bleeding Kansas." Armed conflicts, arson, intimidation, and voter fraud became common. As a result, the territorial government descended into chaos, and the extent of the divisions between pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters became evident.
The struggle in Kansas gained national attention and became a microcosm of the larger North-South divide. The violence and political turmoil in Kansas highlighted the deep-seated tensions and irreconcilable differences between the two regions. It also revealed the failure of popular sovereignty as a compromise solution.
In summary, the issue of Kansas reflected the growing division between the North and South due to the clash over the expansion of slavery into new territories. The conflict in Kansas Territory vividly showed the violent and bitter nature of the divisions between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces, ultimately highlighting the irreconcilable differences that would ultimately lead to the American Civil War.