Kansas-Nebraska Act Theme of Rules and Order

The Kansas-Nebraska Act is, for all intents and purposes, a chore chart, minus the glitter, gold stars, and that whole "chart" aspect.

See, the federal government, like a lot of parents, has a set of expectations for its kids—er, states and territories. The expectations themselves might be a little different—like, instead of "keep your room clean," the federal government is more likely to say, "keep your elections clean"—but the premise is the same: the feds say what needs to be done, and the territories need to do it.

The U.S. Government wasn't necessarily trying to be a helicopter parent here, but they did want to make sure the new territories were set up to succeed. What does that mean? It means that Kansas and Nebraska were (a) aware of the expectations the federal government had for them, (b) given enough information and resources to complete their chores, and (c) clear on which decisions they could make on their own and which decisions required that they ask a grown-up (a.k.a. the federal government) for assistance.

And, says the federal government, if they're really good and finish everything on the chore chart, maybe Kansas and Nebraska can go out and become real States someday.

Real States. Talk about the ultimate dangling carrot.

1. In your opinion, what are the two most important "chores" the federal government assigns the new territories? Why?
2. What does a population need to do to become a U.S. territory? What does a territory need to do to become a state?
3. Why do new territories need to be so much like the federal government anyway? Can't they be their own territory and do things the way they want? Not *everyone* has to be exactly like the federal government, right?
4. Are there any chores that are different for Nebraska than they are for Kansas? If so, what are they and why are they different?

New territories need to be shaped and molded by the federal government so they don't grow up to be fascist, tyrannical hoodlums.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act didn't give the new territories nearly enough freedom to develop their own unique personalities and lifestyles.