There was at least one pivotal event that occurred in United States before Kansas became a state. This event was like a lit fuse on a stick of dynamite. Make that several fuses on several sticks of dynamite.
The event I'm talking about, The Missouri Compromise. In the year 1820, pro-slavery and anti-slavery representatives in the United States Congress agreed that slavery would not be allowed in the Louisiana Territory north of approximately 36 degrees North of the Equator, except, EXCEPT within the proposed boundaries of what would become the state of Missouri.
If you know your geography Missouri borders Kansas. The fact that Missouri was able to maintain pro-slavery status, would cause problems for anti-slavery settlements in Kansas. In fact, a chain reaction of events would lead to what we know as 'Bleeding Kansas'.
If you click on the this link you'll see a cool animated image. Missouri Compromise (You'll have to scroll down just a little, but it's there).
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Welcome to Historic Kansas
I'm a writer. I was born and raised in NE Kansas, and I spent most of my life longing to leave. It took one persistent character to show me the way, and now there is no looking back. This blog will be dedicated to the research I find along the way. My hope is to not only provide you with well known facts but also with cool stories like what Grandma told. And, yes I might even write a tale or two from my own grandma.
Although much of Kansas had become part of the United States with the signing of the Louisiana Purchase, it wasn't until May 30, 1854 that the Kansas-Nebraska Act was signed. And it wasn't until January 29, 1861 that Kansas was admitted into the Union as a free state. During the years preceding admittance into the Union, Kansas was a volatile territory. And although many settlers feared the unknown I'm sure none expected the violence especially from their very own neighbors, and I'm not talking about the local natives.
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