In 1854 Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act in Congress. When President Franklin Pierce signed Senator Douglas’s bill into law, the Missouri Compromise ban on slavery north of the 36°30′ line established through the Louisiana Purchase was replaced with “popular sovereignty.”
Two new territories were established: the Nebraska Territory and the Kansas Territory. Settlers in each Territory were free to determine the future of slavery for themselves.
Abolitionists arriving in the Kansas Territory from Boston saw potential for a town alongside the Big Blue River and the Kansas River. Two rivers touched this settlement. Maritime trade would anchor commerce.
Acreage was acquired. A river landing was constructed. They’d build ferries. A town constitution was adopted.
The origin of “free state” Manhattan, Kansas.
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