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Under popular sovereignty, the residents of the territory would ultimately decide whether slavery would be allowed. This principle meant that the people living in a particular territory would determine their own laws and institutions, including the decision on the legality of slavery.
Kansas - Nebraska act
No most northerners did not like popular sovereignty because it violated the Missouri compromise. The South was in favor of popular sovereignty because it allowed the people to decide if slavery would be allowed in a new territory.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854
popular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty
Under popular sovereignty, the decision on whether slavery would be allowed in a territory is typically made by the residents of that territory through a vote or referendum. This allows the people living in the area to determine the status of slavery based on majority rule.
Popular sovereignty is the principle that residents of a territory have the right to decide whether slavery should be permitted through a direct vote. It was a compromise proposed as part of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 to settle the debate over the extension of slavery into new territories.
The Kansas-Nebraska of 1854 allowed the territories of Kansas and Nebrask to vote on whether to allow slavery, which is what "popular sovereignty" or "squatter sovereignty" meant.
Popular sovereignty is when a majority vote within a region or state determines its policies. The Kansas-Nebraska act of 1854 allowed popular sovereignty to decide whether a territory was to be a free state or a slave state.
Popular sovereignty was well supported because it allowed the local citizens of a territory to decide if slavery was to be allowed or illegal. Stephen A. Douglas pushed for popular sovereignty during the 1840's.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 called for the citizens of a territory to vote on the issue of slavery before they applied for statehood. The idea was termed popular sovereignty.