Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. II.djvu/247

FRANKLIN PIERCE 193 mitted slavery north of the parallel of 36 30 in a region from which it had been forever excluded by the Missouri compromise of 1820. That bill was Mr. Douglas s bid for the presidency. South ern politicians could not reject it and retain their influence at home. Northern politicians who opposed it gave up all hope of national preferment, which then seemed to depend on southern support. The defeat of the bill seemed likely to sever and destroy the Democratic organization, a result which many believed would lead to civil war and the dis solution of the Union. Borne onward by the aggressive spirit of slavery, by political ambition, by the force of party discipline, and the dread of sectional discord, the bill was passed by congress, and on May 31 received the signature of the presi dent. Slavery had won, but there never was a more costly victory. The remainder of Pierce s term was embittered by civil war in Kansas and the disasters of his party in the free states. In 1854, with a Democratic majority in both houses of the New Hampshire legislature, the influence of the national administration could not secure the election of a Democratic U. S. senator, and at the next election in 1855 the Democracy lost control of the state. The repeal of the Missouri compromise was soon followed by organized efforts in the free states to fill Kansas with anti-slavery settlers. To