Answer to Question #184838 in History for aly

Question

How did popular sovereignty lead to violence in Kansas?

Answer 1

Popular sovereignty was based on the concept of self-determination. The Kansas-Nebraska act of 1854 led to the establishment of territorial boundaries which made the land vulnerable to legal settlement. Residents of these states where left to choose through popular vote whether their land would be free or slave. People from all sides of the controversy in Kansas came to the territory and tried to influence the vote in their favor. Violence was perpetrated by election fraud, quarrels over land, rivalry in territorial governments, and claims over land. There was also three different groups that occupied Kansas, these were abolitionists, free-staters and pro-slavery. Therefore, based on popular sovereignty, each group was left to settle the existing issues, this resulted in mayhem and bloodshed in Kansas.