Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois designed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and pushed it through Congress. Southerners assumed that the Kansas territory would become a slave state, while Nebraska would be a free state. Northern anti-slavery politicians and activists were livid. This act effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that outlawed slavery north of the latitude of 36 degrees 30 minutes in the former Louisiana Territory because it opened the possibility that Kansas and Nebraska (both above the 36✣0' line) could become slave states. The Kansas-Nebraska Act organized the territories of Kansas and Nebraska on the basis of popular sovereignty, which allowed the two territories to decide for themselves whether to permit slavery when they applied for statehood. However, it failed miserably the Kansas-Nebraska Act was one of the key political events that led to the American Civil War. On May 30, 1854, President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which was designed to solve the issue of expanding slavery into the territories. Although Pierce dislikes the proposal and worries that it will create national controversy, he succumbs to pressure from various senators who threaten to block appointments. The bill reopens the question of slavery in the West by repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820, organizes the Kansas and Nebraska territories on the basis of “popular sovereignty,” and paves the way for the transcontinental railroad from Chicago to California. The Kansas-Nebraska Act is signed into law after being introduced by President Pierce's rival, Senator Stephen Douglas (Democrat - IL). This issue was a recurring problem for the Pierce Administration - and one it failed to solve. As the treaty's ratification debate demonstrated, the Gadsden Purchase inflamed sectional tensions over the expansion of slavery. However, Pierce's victory came at a price. Pierce's southern allies acquired the land they needed to build a southern railroad route to the Pacific. His administration obtained a sizable amount of land without war and settled international problems resulting from the Mexican War. The Gadsden Purchase was an important but limited victory for President Pierce. In June, the House passed an appropriations bill, and the treaty went into effect. On April 25, 1854, the Senate ratified the treaty but reduced the land grant and cut the payment to $10 million dollars. These protests were to no avail, however. Railroad promoters seeking a northern transcontinental railroad objected to the purchase for it seemed to insure the demise of their favored project. Antislavery politicians charged that the treaty was actually an effort to expand slavery. The Gadsden Purchase aroused significant opposition at home, especially during the debate over Senate ratification. In addition, the treaty resolved outstanding differences between the two nations regarding the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican War. After a few false starts, Gadsden and Santa Anna agreed on a treaty in which the United States would purchase 55,000 square miles for $15 million dollars. Pierce appointed South Carolinian railroad promoter James Gadsden as American minister to Mexico and charged him with negotiating a treaty with President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna of Mexico. President Franklin Pierce and his Secretary of State Jefferson Davis wanted the land - which now comprises New Mexico and a quarter of southern Arizona - for a proposed southern transcontinental railroad. On December 30, 1853, the Gadsden Purchase Treaty was signed, giving the United States approximately 45,000 square miles of northern Mexico. In return, the party's constituents overlook Tammany's fraudulent elections and other corrupt practices. Its programs and services provide new Americans with food, employment, and protection. In the late 1840s, the political organization enjoys success over the local Know-Nothing and Whig parties through its affiliation with numerous immigrants. Formed in 1786, the Tammany Society evolves to uphold Jeffersonian politics in the city. Under the leadership of Wood, Tammany Hall has become the dominant force in the life of New York City politics. Fernando Wood wins the New York City mayoral race, becoming the first boss of Tammany Hall to fill the position. The purchase establishes the final boundaries of the United States and, by providing a strip of land to the Pacific Ocean, will be used a route for the Southern Pacific Railroad. At the cost of $15 million, the United States acquires more than 29,600 square miles of new territory in southwest Arizona and New Mexico. The Gadsden Purchase, negotiated by James Gadsden, U.S.
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