Final answer:
The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise line and allowed settlers to decide on slavery, contributing to the rise of the Republican Party. The Missouri Compromise had previously maintained a balance between slave and free states. The Compromise of 1850 included the Fugitive Slave Act and popular sovereignty, leading to deep sectional divides.
Step-by-step explanation:
Acts and Compromises in 19th Century American History
When examining the examples of acts and compromises related to Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri, several historical events come to mind. Notably, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, orchestrated by Illinois senator Stephen Douglas, stands out. The act established the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowed the settlers to determine whether to permit slavery, effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise line. This opened the territories to the possibility of slavery, which pleased southern interests but incited northern opposition, contributing to the rise of the Republican Party.
Another crucial piece of legislation was the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state while prohibiting slavery in the remaining Louisiana Territory north of latitude 36° 30'. The Compromise of 1850 was a series of acts aimed at pacifying the growing tension between free and slave states. As part of these, the controversial Fugitive Slave Act was enacted, which alarmed northerners and led to greater resistance in the North, including disobedience to the law and support for the Underground Railroad.
The Compromise of 1850 also admitted California as a free state and invoked popular sovereignty in the territories, causing votes to be strictly divided along sectional lines. Collectively, these events, including the violence in 'Bleeding Kansas', the formation of new political parties, and the deepening regional divides, inched the nation closer to the brink of the Civil War.