Miner - Chapter 2

Miner – Chapter 2
Trampling Out the Vintage 1855-1865

“Ad Astra Per Aspera,” the Kansas state motto, “To the stars through difficulties,” could not be more fitting as Kansas became a territory in 1854 as part of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and then finally statehood in 1861. The description of Kansas as “bleeding Kansas” is also extremely accurate. Kansas was in open rebellion for many years before and after statehood. This was mainly due to the two very unique groups of settlers that came to Kansas. First there were the Northern emigrants from the New England states that were known as Free Staters. These people were opposed to slavery and wanted to make Kansas a state that was opposed to slavery. The Southern element was just the opposite. They were for pro-slavery. This created a lot of violence and turmoil during the years leading up to state hood. Perhaps the most famous of these conflicts was when William Quantrill from Missouri brutally massacred the people of Lawrence. Also along the Missouri/Kansas boarder were Jayhawkers (pro-slavers) who attacked the Free State settlers. During this period there were several Indian tribes located throughout Kansas. These people were assigned to reservations but they were still a threat to be reckoned with. In 1861 Kansas was accepted into the union as a free state and for the most part its men fought with the union army under President Lincoln.
We touch on the Civil War in 4th grade and the raid in Lawrence so that when they get to 5th grade they have some background knowledge of it to learn it for mastery.