Curriculum Event: The Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Kansas-Nebraska A.ct was created by Senator Stephen A. Douglas and passed by congress on May 30, 1854. The act originally began as a bill that would organize the great plains into a new territory, known as the Nebraska Territory, and would open it up to settlers. Douglas did this because he wanted a railroad built to California, and he thought that opening up the north to settlers would raise the odds of this happening. After proposing this new bill to congress, southern representatives agreed to only support the bill if changes were made. They feared that the Missouri Compromise would turn the new territory into free states. So, some changes were made. The final product was the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Connection to Democracy

The revised version of the bill, The Kansas-Nebraska Act, made the following major changes: it created two new territories, called the Kansas and Nebraska Territories; abolished the Louisiana Compromise; and allowed the new territories to decide on their use of slavery through popular sovereignty. The use of popular sovereignty, the idea that the government's authority comes from the people, reflects one of the five major American Ideals -- Democracy -- very well. Our definition of democracy is this: a form of government where the power is in the hands of the people. Now doesn't that sound familiar? The definitions for Popular Sovereignty and democracy are very similar, and this is why the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and its use of Popular Sovereignty, is very closely connected to the ideal of democracy.

The 2016 United States Presidential Primary Elections are also another example of democracy being used in America -- except a little more recent. The primaries act as the "semi-finals" for deciding who will lead our great country. They are used to decide, by vote of the people, which candidate from each political party will be representing their party. There are many measures to ensure that the voting is fair. One example of this is how a voter is not able to vote for a candidate of a certain party unless they are a registered member of that party. This prevents voters from trying to weaken the opposition instead of strengthening their party. This also keeps the opposition from disturbing the votes of actual voters of that party. After the representatives of each party have been chosen, and the "semi-finals" have been finished, the "finals" begin. People can then vote for any candidate that they like, now that there is only one representative from each party, and on rare occasions, independents as well. And this final decision decides the fate of the country.

Modern Day Example: 2106 United States Presidential Primary Elections

Connection to Ideal

In order to decide on the candidate for each of the parties, the voice of the people is needed. People vote on who they think could carry The Untied States into a successful future. These votes count towards deciding the future of the country, whether that be for the better or worse. Democracy is a big part of many governments, including the one that we have here in the United States. The primaries reflect the ideal of democracy in a big way by using the voices and opinions of the people to decide how they will be guided and governed, which is what democracy is all about.