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BLEEDING KANSAS: Decade of Conflict - Page 2


© Janette Kenny
Page 2

Aug 17, 2001


On May 1, 1856, Sheriff Samuel Jones incited a posse of eight hundred proslavery men to sack and burn Lawrence. The bloody conflicts in Kansas magnified.

Abolitionist John Brown and his followers retaliated against the raid on Lawrence and the attack of Free-State supporter Senator Charles Sumner in the United States Senate by dragging five proslavery men from their beds and murdering them. That violent act goaded the proslavers to fight back in kind.

General John Reid gathered a militia of four hundred Missourians and attacked John Brown's stronghold. Osawatomie, Kansas was sacked and burned on August 30, 1856. Frederick Brown, John's son, was killed in that skirmish.

As the border wars escalated, property and lives were lost. Bushwhackings became commonplace.

One noted attack was the Trading Post Massacre near the Marais des Cygnes River. Thirty proslavery men, led by Charles Hamelton, captured eleven Free-State men en route to West Point, Missouri. They were lined up and shot. Five Free-State men died.

Kansas abolitionists retaliated by raiding, or jayhawking, the Missouri slaveholders and proslavers. Because of the bushwhackers and jayhawkers, the territory became known as Bleeding Kansas.

Amid the turmoil, hundreds of settlers opposed to slavery pushed into Kansas from New England and the Upper Midwest. In 1859, the antislavery faction abolished slavery in Kansas.

On January 19, 1861, Kansas was named the 34th state. But peace eluded many Kansans.

A few weeks after Kansas gained statehood, the Civil War broke out and the hostilities between Free-State Kansas and Proslavery Missouri raged on.

Sources/Suggested Reading

The Great West by David Lavender

Entrepreneurs of the Old West by David Drury

The Great Plains Experience by James E. Wright and Sarah Z. Rosenberg

Peopling the Plains by James R. Shortridge

The Smithsonian Guild to Historic America: The Plains States

Kansas Historical Tour Guide by D. Ray Wilson

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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages
8.   Aug 24, 2001 3:17 PM
In response to message posted by jerrib:

That is an unlikely duo! I'm glad we're more civilized now.

We both have color ...

-- posted by Sunflower72
7.   Aug 24, 2001 3:09 PM
In response to message posted by PearlPrice:
Thanks, Pearl, for dropping by again. I'm just glad that the biggest conflict waged be ...

-- posted by Sunflower72
6.   Aug 23, 2001 7:27 AM
An unlikely combination, but a picture worth seeing as you describe the turmoil in your state history.

I also really like your welcome text - very colorful and enticing!

Welcome to the Suite, th ...

-- posted by jerrib
5.   Aug 20, 2001 12:24 PM
Jan,
I got caught up in the conflict between the proslavery and antislavery factions. Not knowing the history of Kansas, I didn't know what exactly happened, so you had me reading with bated breath t ...

-- posted by PearlPrice
4.   Aug 20, 2001 6:43 AM
In response to message posted by mitelo:

That's great you are visiting and enjoying the many Kansas historical sites and museums ...

-- posted by Sunflower72



For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Janette Kenny's Kansas History topic, please visit the Discussions page.


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