sas-Nebraska Bill, which proposed the formation of the two territories of Kansas and Nebraska on the principle of "squatter sovereignty." In other words, he proposed that the settlers decide for themselves whether or not they would have slavery. Douglas's measures practically repealed the Missouri Compromise, and they were violently debated in Congress for nearly five months; they became law, however (1854), by a close vote in both houses and the signature of the President. The Kansas-Nebraska Bill, however, had many far-reaching results: (a) it deprived Congress of its authority over slavery in the territories; (b) it occasioned a grave contest over Kansas; (c) it revived with renewed bitterness the slavery agitation, or, rather, quoting Sumner, it "set freedom and slavery face to face and bade them grapple." 485. The Race to Kansas for Supremacy. The Kansas-Nebraska act gave rise to a storm of indignation all over the North. The anti-slavery men declared that if the old Missouri Compromise could be swept away, nothing would be sacred enough to stand between slavery and free territory. No sooner was the Kansas-Nebraska act passed, than a race for political. supremacy in Kansas was begun by both the pro-slavery and anti-slavery men. Before the year closed each party had planted several settlements in Kansas. The pro-slavery men, or "Border Ruffians," as they were called, settled at Atchison and other points along the Missouri River, while the free-state men, called also "Abolitionists," or "Black Republicans," settled at Lawrence and other places south of the Kansas River. The excitement became intense. Each party was determined to win in the first election for a territorial legislature (1855). The pro-slavery men carried the election by means of fraud and violence, promptly adopted the Constitution of Missouri, which provided for slavery, and added to it laws by which any interference with slavery was to be severely punished. The free-state settlers, refusing to obey a government which had been established through fraud, met at Topeka and drew up a constitution of their own, which forbade slavery. Thus Kansas had two rival, hostile governments, each demanding recognition by Congress and the President. It was clear that "squatter sovereignty" could not solve peaceably the slavery question in the territories. The House of Representatives accepted the Topeka, or anti-slavery constitution, and voted to admit Kansas as a free state. The Senate, however, did not concur in this action. The conflict in Kansas developed into Civil War, during which the two parties committed so many crimes of violence and bloodshed that no state in the Union, not even those that had been the scene of Indian wars, surpassed Kansas in the fierce strife of its early years; hence, the territory became known as "Bleeding Kansas." At one time the pro-slavery party of Kansas framed what is known as the "Lecompton Constitution," making Kansas a slave state without submitting the constitution to a fair vote of the people. It was sent to Washington with an application for the admission of Kansas as a state. Buchanan was about to recommend the admission of Kansas under this constitution, when Douglas came forward and demanded that the constitution should first be submitted to a fair vote of the Kansas people. Douglas, by his noble stand for justice in behalf of the people of Kansas, now gained greatly in the estimation of the North. 486. Filibustering Expeditions-The Ostend Manifesto. The balance between the free and the slave states having been destroyed by the admission of California as a free state, southerners began to covet Cuba, as they had coveted Mexico. A filibustering expedition, led by Narciso Lopez, set out (1851) from New Orleans to secure the island by capture, for the purpose of annexing it with its large slave population to the United States. The scheme ended in disaster and Lopez was executed. A similar filibustering expedition (1854), headed by William Walker, was made to Nicaragua. Walker seized the government and held it for two years, when he was finally overpowered and put to death. France and Great Britain, because of this filibustering expedition against Cuba, suggested a convention, in which each of the three nations-England, France, and the United States -should disclaim all intention to obtain possession of Cuba. The United States declined to enter the agreement, and later the American ministers to Great Britain, France, and Spain, acting under instructions from the President, met at Ostend, Belgium (1854), to consider the subject of annexing the island. The result was a proclamation, known as the "Ostend Manifesto," in which was declared: that Cuba should belong to the United States; that the government should offer Spain one hundred and twenty million dollars for the island; and that in case Spain should refuse to sell the island, it should be secured by force. Spain would not sell the island and Congress would not adopt the policy of taking Cuba by force. Hence, nothing was effected by the "Ostend Manifesto." 487. The Gadsden Purchase. Owing to the inaccuracy of the maps, trouble arose with Mexico in regard to the boundary line. General James Gadsden, our minister to Mexico, at length adjusted matters by negotiating a treaty (1853), by which the United States paid Mexico ten million dollars for the land lying directly south of the Gila River. This territory, which comprised about forty-seven thousand square miles, has since been known as the Gadsden Purchase. 488. Perry's Treaty with Japan. In 1853 Commodore Matthew C. Perry, brother of the hero of Lake Erie, visited Japan, which till then had not admitted foreigners even for the purpose of trade. After a year's waiting, Perry succeeded in making a treaty (1854) by which certain Japanese ports were opened for trade with the United States. As a result of Perry's expedition, Japan, within seven years, made treaties with nearly all the countries of Europe, and began the wonderful development which has marked that nation for the last half-century. 489. First World's Fair in the United States. For the first time in our history, the nations of the world joined the United States (1853) in a great exposition of products in the Crystal Palace, New York. The Crystal Palace was built exclusively of iron and glass, and was visited by thousands from all parts of the world. The exposition tended to show that the United States might soon lead the rest of the world in practical inventions and the manufactures of labor-saving machinery. 490. The Campaign of 1856. At the convention held in Philadelphia (1856), a new party, the National Republican, was formed of anti-slavery Democrats, anti-slavery Whigs, and Free-Soilers. Its platform demanded that Congress should not interfere with slavery where it existed; that Congress should prohibit in the territories "these twin relics of barbarism, polygamy and slavery"; and that Kansas should immediately |