Thursday, February 02, 2006

This Day in Republican History 2/02/06

February 2, 1856 After leaving Democratic Party because of its pro-slavery policies, U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Banks (R-MA) becomes first Republican Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives The policy Banks objected to was the Democrats' Kansas-Nebraska bill, which stated that Kansas and Nebraska could enter the union with or without slavery. Kansas elected its first legislature in March, 1855. Although fewer than 2,000 people were qualified to take part in the elections, more than 6,000 people voted. They were mainly Missouri Democrats who had crossed the border to make sure pro-slavery candidates were elected. The new legislature passed laws that imposed the death penalty for anyone helping a slave to escape and two years in jail for possessing abolitionist literature.

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