The '''Kansas-Nebraska Act''' was an 1854 law opening the [[US]] territories of [[Kansas]] and [[Nebraska]] to [[popular sovereignty]], the idea that the states' residents would decide whether or not to allow [[slavery]]. It had been proposed by [[Illinois]] Senator [[Stephen Douglas]]. This effectively nullified the earlier [[Missouri Compromise]], as Kansas and Nebraska were both north of the compromise line. [[Abolitionists]] were upset at the possibility of slavery being allowed north of this line. The Act led to the violence [[Bleeding Kansas]], where anti-slavery and pro-slavery militias clashed in Kansas. Multiple votes over slavery ended up taking place in Kansas, and they were rife with accusations of voter fraud.
+
The '''Kansas-Nebraska Act''' was an 1854 law opening the [[US]] territories of [[Kansas]] and [[Nebraska]] to [[popular sovereignty]], the idea that the states' residents would decide whether or not to allow [[slavery]]. It had been proposed by [[Illinois]] Senator [[Stephen Douglas]]. This effectively nullified the earlier [[Missouri Compromise]], as Kansas and Nebraska were both north of the compromise line. [[Abolitionist]]s were upset at the possibility of slavery being allowed north of this line. The Act led to the violence [[Bleeding Kansas]], where anti-slavery and pro-slavery militias clashed in Kansas. Multiple votes over slavery ended up taking place in Kansas, and they were rife with accusations of voter fraud.