Bleeding Kansas (jan 1, 1854 – jan 1, 1861)

Description:

Series of conflicts between Anti- and Pro-slavery groups in Kansas over whether Kansas was to enter the Union as a free state, or as a slave state. The Kansas-Nebraska Act had given the choice to the "popular sovereignty" of the people of Kansas to decide. The process of popular sovereignty to decide slavery is an inherently sectional one, as it divulged important issues (namely slavery) to the locals who would be affected by the decision.