The Kansas-Nebraska Act was introduced in 1854. At this point in time, America was growing, and the areas of land now defined as Kansas and Nebraska were being opened up for settlement. When the lands were opened up, it would allow not only the settlers to establish life, it would also allow for the continuation of the popular Transcontinental Railroad. Included in this act was the idea that the people who would occupy these lands would have the right of popular sovereignty, this meant that the institution of slavery would be dependent upon the vote of the people. This upset the groups which had formed against slavery; they insisted that this act catered to the southern idea of allowing slavery. This hostility spread across the nation; the split between those who were for slavery and those who were against slavery were the beginnings of civil war. Eventually Kansas was admitted as a free state and Nebraska wasn't admitted until after the Civil War.
I think that this is often over looked in history by the average American because most either don't know or don't realize its importance. Whether a state was a "free state" or not made a big deal in society at that point in America's history. There were the southerners who strongly supported slavery in benefit of their economy and there were the northerners who lived in areas founded on Quaker traditions that believed in a society of equal opportunity. Most people recognize this as a key issue in how society was being run at that time but people often overlook the little things that made, molded, and broke that society.
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