How did popular sovereignty lead to violence in Kansas?

Answer 1

Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois wanted to encourage people to live in the west territories that were created by the Kansas-Nebraska act. In these territories popular sovereignty was used to determine the issue of slavery. Settlers that came to the new territories would be allowed to vote if slavery would be allowed.

Both territories were North of latitude 36.30, and according to the Missouri compromise, slavery was banned in the territories north of this line. the Kansas-Nebraska act would cancel the Missouri compromise. This caused some of the Northerners to feel betrayed by Douglas.

Answer 2

It was clear that it would be a close-run contest, so outsiders from both sides moved into the state and bought cheap properties in order to qualify for the vote.

Some of them went further and intimidated the locals, as well as trying to upset the ballots and declare them void.

This led to a lot of violence.

Answer 3

The elections offered a temptation to pro-slavery gangsters to cast illegal votes and intimidate the locals into supporting slavery, and some New England Abolitionists crossed the state border and clashed with those groups.

There was a good deal of bloodshed, also accusations of rigged results, and it was some time before it became clear that Kansas was voting free-soil.

Answer 4

It brought every bully-boy in America to thinly-populated Kansas, to intimidate the locals who were trying to vote on whether Kansas shiould be slave or free.

Answer 5

illegal voting by Missouri residents.