The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 effectively nullified the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had maintained a balance between free and slave states by prohibiting slavery in territories north of the 36°30′ parallel. It introduced the concept of popular sovereignty, allowing settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery, leading to violent conflict known as "Bleeding Kansas." This undermined previous compromises and heightened tensions between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions, ultimately contributing to the sectional divide that led to the Civil War.
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