New Life, 1855, Week 2

    As I come into adulthood, I have been getting more consciousness of what I believe in and where I stand. I still believe that agriculture is the essence of American economy, and slavery should never be replaced with the free labor system. I strongly stand against the northern anti-slavery activities. While my elder brothers took charge of the plantation after my father's death, I left my home in Mississippi for a new start in the west. By 1854, I finally settled on the fertile land in the Territory of Nebraska.

Territory of Nebraska Map

    I opened a new plantation with slaves, and bought an estate in the proslavery town of Lecompton. In the same year, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by Congress. The act divided the region into two territories, Kansas and Nebraska, and aimed to organize a government in these areas through popular sovereignty. In my own perspective, I oppose popular sovereignty, because it could only bring more chaos and conflicts. However, the congressmen thought this was a good way to show democracy, as well as to solve the imbalance of power between free and slave states. They intended to bring Kansas in as a slave state, while Nebraska would become a free state.

Kansas-Nebraska Act Map Illustration

    To be honest, nobody was really pleased with this act -- slave owners like me thought it was unfair that the Nebraska was almost triple the size of Kansas; and people who oppose slavery thought the act abused the Missouri Compromise because it allowed slavery to spread to an area that had been free for over 30 years. I did not like the Missouri Compromise, since it not only limited the spread of slavery, but also failed to keep the balance between north and south. And of course, I hope slavery could be spread to more territories, especially those with fertile farming land.

    But still, after the act was passed, a LOT of settlers rushed into the territory in order to establish their own government. Lecompton, the town I live in, became the capital of a proslavery government by this year. The new government soon passed some great decisions, such as a constitution that officially legalized slavery and punished those who spoke against it. I was pretty impressed by the new government, and truly held faith in it.

Lecompton Constitution Hall

Bibliography

"Kansas Nebraska Act 1854." HistoryGCP. WordPress.com, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2016. <https://historygcp.wordpress.com/unit-2-compromise-and-conflict/kansas-nebraska-act/>.

"Lecompton Constitution Hall." Legends of Kansas. Legends of America, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2016. <http://www.legendsofkansas.com/towns/Lecompton%20Constitution%20Hall%20in%201908.jpg>.

Rogers, H. D., and A. Kaith Johnston. Map of Nebraska Territory. 1857. State Museum of North Dakota, Bismarck. State Historical Society of North Dakota. Web. 27 Jan. 2016. <http://history.nd.gov/textbook/unit1_natworld/unit1_2_nebraska.html>.