Title The Social Contract and Popular Sovereignty ✅

Popular sovereignty was often cited before the Civil War as well. It was used as a reason for why people in a newly organized territory should have the right to decide whether or not slavery should be allowed there. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 was based on this idea. It set the stage for a violent situation that became known as "Bleeding Kansas." Proslavery and antislavery activists went to the territories to influence the vote. Each side wanted to use popular sovereignty to their own advantage. Historians have also linked social contract theories to important social movements. For example, the idea of the social contract has influenced the movement for Native American rights. It has also influenced the fights for civil rights and women's rights.