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Explain Bot The right for the western territories to vote to enter the Union as free states or slave states was established through a series of legislative acts and agreements in the 19th century. To understand this, we need to examine two key factors: the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the concept of popular sovereignty.
1. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787: This was a federal law enacted by the Continental Congress for the governance of the Northwest Territory, which encompassed the present-day states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The Northwest Ordinance established a process for territorial expansion and statehood. It stated that when a territory's population reached 5,000 free adult males, it could elect a territorial legislature. Once the population reached 60,000, the territory could apply for statehood and draft a constitution. The ordinance did not address the issue of slavery directly but effectively prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory by stating that "there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude" in the region.
2. Popular Sovereignty: The concept of popular sovereignty emerged as a compromise during the debates over the expansion of slavery in the United States. It suggested that the settlers of a territory should decide for themselves whether to allow slavery or not. This idea was promoted by Senator Stephen A. Douglas as part of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Under this act, the territories of Kansas and Nebraska were allowed to vote on whether to permit slavery within their boundaries. This effectively overturned the geographic restrictions from the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which prohibited slavery above a certain latitude.
So, to summarize, the right for western territories to vote to enter the Union as free states or slave states emerged from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which allowed territories to apply for statehood based on population, and the concept of popular sovereignty, which allowed settlers in those territories to decide on the issue of slavery themselves. These developments played a significant role in shaping the debate surrounding the expansion of slavery in the United States during the 19th century.