Kansas-Nebraska Act

( 1854 ) Commentary by Martin J. Hershock, University of Michigan—Dearborn

Glossary

appellate having the power to review the judgment of another tribunal
chancery having to do with providing equity without making rulings on issues of law
common law referring to a body of law developed primarily from judicial decisions based on custom and precedent and forming the basis of U.S. law
emoluments compensation deriving from holding an office
habeas corpus a common law writ obtained to bring someone before a court or judge
prescribed ordained
respites delays
suffrage the vote
to wit that is to say
vested conferred as a power
writ a formal legal document

This 1856 cartoon depicts the violence that followed the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (Library of Congress)

View Full Size