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This act, passed on May 30, 1854, allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. This principle of popular sovereignty led to a rush of pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers into Kansas, setting the stage for conflict.

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Anti-slavery settlers, funded by organizations like the New England Emigrant Aid Company, began moving to Kansas to ensure it would become a free state. This further escalated tensions in the region.

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On May 21, 1855, pro-slavery forces attacked and looted Lawrence, Kansas, a town established by anti-slavery settlers. This event was one of the first major acts of violence in what became known as Bleeding Kansas.

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In response to the Sack of Lawrence, abolitionist John Brown and his followers killed five pro-slavery settlers in Pottawatomie Creek on the night of May 24, 1856, in what is known as the Pottawatomie Massacre. This marked a significant escalation in the violence of Bleeding Kansas.

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Pro-slavery settlers drafted the Lecompton Constitution, which proposed Kansas as a slave state. However, it was ultimately rejected by the residents, further inflaming tensions between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions.

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On May 19, 1858, pro-slavery forces captured and killed five anti-slavery men in the Marais des Cygnes massacre, one of the last significant violent incidents of Bleeding Kansas.

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Anti-slavery settlers began organizing more formally, leading raids into Missouri and earning the nickname 'Jayhawkers'. This movement aimed at ensuring Kansas would enter the Union as a free state.

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On January 29, 1861, Kansas was admitted into the Union as a free state, marking the end of the Bleeding Kansas conflict but also setting the stage for the broader conflict of the American Civil War.