Advanced Placement US History (AP US History) Practice Exam

The Kansas-Nebraska Act, enacted in 1854, is significant primarily because it repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820. This earlier compromise had established a boundary line between free and slave territories, aiming to maintain a balance between slave and free states. By allowing the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery through the principle of popular sovereignty, the Kansas-Nebraska Act directly undermined the restrictions imposed by the Missouri Compromise.

This decision led to intense conflict in Kansas, known as "Bleeding Kansas," as pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers rushed into the territory to influence the outcome of the vote. The act's impact intensified national divisions over slavery, contributing significantly to the sectional tensions that would eventually lead to the Civil War.

While the act did establish new territories for settlement and created a framework for their governance, these aspects are directly linked to its primary function of repealing the Missouri Compromise and its resulting political and social upheaval. The act did not grant statehood to Kansas and Nebraska immediately nor was it aimed at the emancipation of slaves, thus solidifying the importance of its role in the broader context of U.S. history regarding slavery and territorial governance.