"The Anti-Nebraska Movement"

The Anti-Nebraska Movement was a political effort in the mid-1800s opposing the expansion of slavery into new territories. It emerged partly in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which allowed settlers in those territories to vote on whether to allow slavery. Many Northern opponents believed this Act threatened the ban on slavery established by earlier agreements like the Missouri Compromise. As a result, the movement sought to prevent the spread of slavery, uniting various groups who wanted to keep new territories free states, and contributing to escalating tensions that eventually led to the Civil War.