There were many interesting aspects of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Although it may not have been the intent of the originator to create a worsening situation between the sectional groups of the time, it did just that. Senator Douglas took it upon himself to solve the controversy over the expansion of slave territory by proposing the bill. In doing so, he enraged many Americans and added to the sectional controversy. This act in particular deteriorated the relations between the north and the south and added to the causes of the Civil War.

Stephan A. Douglas was a senator from Illinois. He was that acting chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories in 1854 when he proposed the bill. Previously four bills, which would have made Nebraska a territory, failed in Congress due to southern opposition. Because of the Compromise of 1820, Nebraska would have been a non-slave state. To solve...