The document summarizes events in Kansas Territory in the 1850s surrounding the issue of slavery. It discusses the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which allowed popular sovereignty to determine slavery in the territories and repealed the Missouri Compromise banning slavery north of 36°30'. This led northern abolitionists and southern pro-slavery groups to rush into Kansas to influence elections, resulting in violence known as "Bleeding Kansas" between the factions. Key events included the Sack of Lawrence and Pottawatomie Massacre by John Brown, and the beating of Senator Charles Sumner by Congressman Preston Brooks in response to a speech criticizing slavery.

1. U.S. History Chapter 18: A Divided Nation Section 2: Trouble in Kansas

2. The Election of 1852 Franklin Pierce Democratic Party Winfield Scott Whig Party