The Nebraska-Kansas Act of 1854 (Law in the American West)
Contributors: John R. Wunder (Editor); Joann M Ross (Editor)
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: July 1, 2008
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 272
ISBN-13: 9780803248229
Subjects: American history: c 1800 to c 1900; History of specific subjects; Jurisprudence & General Issues; Law; Legal Reference / Law Profession; USA; Legal History; United States - Civil War; United States - State & Local - Midwest; Law / Legal History
Description: The Nebraska-Kansas Act of 1854 turns upside down the traditional way of thinking about one of the most important laws ever passed in American history. The act that created Nebraska and Kansas also, in effect, abolished the Missouri Compromise, which had prohibited slavery in the region since 1820. This bow to local control outraged the nation and led to vicious confrontations, including Kansas' subsequent mini-civil war. At the 150th anniversary of the Kansas-Nebraska Act these scholars reexamine the political, social, and personal contexts of this act and its effect on the course of American history.