Guided Reading: Secondary
Bleeding Kansas
1853–1861
The term “Bleeding Kansas” is used to describe the violent events that took place in
the Kansas Territory regarding arguments about whether slavery should be allowed in
Kansas. The events that led to the violence began on December 14, 1853. Iowa Senator
Augustus Dodge proposed a bill for the Senate that began the organization of the Nebraska
Territory. One of the eventual states that came out of this proposal was Kansas. The Senate
listened to Dodge’s proposal. They later sent it to the Stephen Douglas-chaired Committee of
Territories. Douglas was a strong supporter of Manifest Destiny. He believed it was the Godgiven right of the United States to expand its territory as much as possible. One of the main
components of Manifest Destiny was the construction of a transcontinental railroad. This
would connect the United States from east to west via a rail line. Douglas knew that in order
for this railroad to become a reality, the Nebraska Territory must be organized. This meant
that the United States must forcibly remove the Indians from the land.
Douglas wanted the legislation to become a law. He would have to obtain the votes
from Southern states. Slavery was a main factor in the South. Douglas came up with a
solution that the South would agree to. He proposed that the question of slavery in the
Nebraska Territory be resolved by popular sovereignty. In other words, let the voters in the
Nebraska Territory decide. This proposal angered the North. They said it would render the
Missouri Compromise of 1820 useless. The compromise stated, except in Missouri, there
would be no slavery above the imaginary line at latitude 36°30’. Douglas pushed the
legislation to President Franklin Pierce, who approved it. The bill was later passed by both
houses of Congress. It became law on May 20, 1854. Legislature was brought into the
territory. It would give severe penalties to those who spoke out or wrote against slaveholding
policies. It also would penalize those who assisted slaves in running away. The penalty for
the accused was either a death sentence or serving ten years of hard labor. Northerners
enacted their own legislation to counter this. President Pierce did not recognize it.
The capital of the Nebraska Territory, which strongly supported slavery, was relocated
CICERO © 2008
1
Guided Reading: Secondary
to an area called Lecompton, which was near a free state area. During this time, many began
to wonder if there was any controversy with the pro-slavery elections. A team of investigators
was brought in to review the ballots. At the conclusion of their study, they discovered that
most of the people that had voted were not even from the region. They demanded that the
government recognize and enact free state legislation. These requests were denied several
times. Riots ensued, and many people were killed, beaten, and even tarred and feathered. The
Free State Hotel had been burned down by those supporting slavery. John Brown, a noted
abolitionist, led a counterattack. He killed five pro-slavery people.
Violence even occurred in the United States Congress. Abolitionist Senator Charles
Sumner was attacked by Congressman Preston Brooks (the nephew of Senator Andrew
Butler, who Sumner attacked in the speech) with a cane, sending him into a coma. In total, 55
people died during the attacks in the “Bleeding Kansas” period.
John W. Geary, the new governor of the Nebraska Territory, came into power in the
later part of 1856. He demanded that the violence must come to an end. He led a group to
begin drafting a constitution for the territory, although many of the delegates at the
convention could not decide whether they wanted a free state or slave state government. After
four constitutional conventions, the last one taking place in Wyandotte, a free state
constitution was adopted in July 1859. When Kansas tried to enter the Union, pro-slavery
forces continued to deny its application. Most of these pro-slavery forces came from the
South. Kansas was finally admitted to the Union as a free state.
CICERO © 2008
2
Guided Reading: Secondary
Name_________________________
Bleeding Kansas
1853–1861
Discussion Questions:
1. What did Senator Augustus Dodge’s bill call for?
2. Senator Stephen Douglas was a strong supporter in what belief? What was the basis
behind the concept?
3. Why was the organization of the Nebraska Territory necessary?
4. What was the compromise that Douglas had organized with the South? Why was the
North angered by it?
CICERO © 2008
3
Guided Reading: Secondary
5. What was the result of new legislature being introduced into the Nebraska Territory?
6. What happened when people began to think there was controversy surrounding the
pro-slavery elections in the Nebraska Territory?
7. What violent attack happened in the United States Congress?
8. What happened when Kansas tried to enter the Union as a free state? What was the
result?
CICERO © 2008
4
Guided Reading: Secondary
Answer Key
Bleeding Kansas
1853–1861
1. What did Senator Augustus Dodge’s bill call for?
Iowa Senator Augustus Dodge proposed a bill for the Senate that would begin the
organization of the Nebraska Territory.
2. Senator Stephen Douglas was a strong supporter in what belief? What was the basis
behind the concept?
Douglas was a strong supporter of Manifest Destiny. It was the God-given right for the
United States to expand its territory as much as possible.
3. Why was the organization of the Nebraska Territory necessary?
One of the main parts of the idea of Manifest Destiny was the construction of a
transcontinental railroad. This meant that the United States would be connected from
east to west via a rail line. Douglas knew that in order for this railroad to become a
reality, the Nebraska Territory must be organized. This meant that the United States
must forcibly remove the Indians from the land.
4. What was the compromise that Douglas had organized with the South? Why was the
North angered by it?
Douglas came up with a solution that the South would agree to. He stated that the
Nebraska Territory would be organized. The question of slavery would be resolved by
popular sovereignty. This proposal angered the North. They were angry because it
would render the Missouri Compromise of 1820 useless. The compromise stated that,
outside of Missouri, there would be no slavery above the 36°30’ parallel.
5. What was the result of new legislature being introduced into the Nebraska Territory?
Legislature was brought into the territory. It would issue severe penalties to those who
spoke out or wrote against slaveholding policies or assisted slaves in running away.
The penalty was that the accused would be either sentenced to death or serve a tenyear period of hard labor. Northerners enacted their own legislation to counter this.
President Franklin Pierce did not recognize it.
6. What happened when people began to think there was controversy surrounding the
pro-slavery elections in the Nebraska Territory?
Many people began to wonder if there was any controversy with the pro-slavery
elections. A team of investigators was brought in to review the ballots. At the
conclusion of their study, they discovered that most of the people that had voted were
not even from the region. They demanded that the government recognize free state
legislation. These requests were denied several times.
CICERO © 2008
5
Guided Reading: Secondary
7. What violent attack happened in the United States Congress?
Abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner was attacked by Congressman Preston Brooks
(the nephew of Senator Andrew Butler, who Sumner attacked in the speech) with a
cane, sending him into a coma.
8. What happened when Kansas tried to enter the Union as a free state? What was the
result?
When Kansas tried to enter the Union, pro-slavery forces continued to deny their
application. Most of these pro-slavery forces came from the South, and were the same
that seceded from the Union in 1861. It was at this point when Kansas was finally
admitted to the Union as a free state.
CICERO © 2008
6