What did some northerners object object to dividing the Nebraska Territory in two?

Some Northerners objected to dividing the Nebraska Territory into two separate territories, Kansas and Nebraska, because they feared it would extend the influence of slavery into new regions. The proposed Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed for popular sovereignty, meaning settlers could decide for themselves whether to allow slavery, which many Northerners believed undermined the Missouri Compromise and threatened the balance between free and slave states. Additionally, they were concerned that the division would lead to violence and conflict over slavery, as evidenced by the violent clashes in "Bleeding Kansas."