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1854-1860
The KS-NE Act was signed in 1854
Senator Stephen Douglas forced it through
Congress in order to make money by building
a railroad to California.
It created two new territories, Kansas
and Nebraska. It gave the right of popular
sovereighty to the two territories.
Because of this new act, both proslavery
and antislavery settlers rushed in to vote,
illegally. MIssouri was a slave state, which
was right next door to Kansas. The free states
felt that this was unfair, because the pro people
had the upper hand.
The Emigrant Aid Society was established
for moving Northerners to Kansas to
vote for a free ballot.
Northerners and Southerners fought each
other on the borders. People were killed and
slaughtered; "The end justifies the means"*
* The end justifies the means is a saying/
excuse that some people, both pro and anti
slavery used to defend their violent actions.
The "Wakarusa War" was one major event during the territorial period in which one person was killed. Samuel Jones, sheriff of Douglas County, arrested a man attending an antislavery meeting. Fellow antis went and rescued him.
Border ruffians laid seige on Lawrence, a free-state settlement, for a week. This was called the Sacking of Lawrence. They let no supplies pass through the barricades. The residents of the town were very outspoken about the issue of slavery. The newspapers wrote very critical things about the proslavery leaders. As a result, an armed group of pros, led by Sheriff Jones, attacked the town. They burned down the two newspaper offices.
During this period, slaves were escaping left and
right. The Underground Railroad was a major means
of escape. The Railroad wasn't underground, nor was
it a railroad. It was simply a series of safe houses leading
the way to the north and Canada. No one knows how
many slaves were helped along to freedom on the
railroad. The great thing about this was the secrecy.
3 days after the Sacking, an abolitionist called
John Brown came to Kansas. He had meant to take
part in the Sacking by defending Lawrence, but he came back a little late. So, to avenge the antis, he went to a proslavery settlement with some of his sons in the middle
of the night and brutally attacked the pros. Five pros were killed in the attacked. They were hacked apart with broadswords. This massacre was called the Pottawatomie Massacre because it took place next to Pottawatomie Creek.
The Bogus Legislature was the first goverment of
Kansas Territory. The name was so because border ruffians came over the KS MO border and voted illegally in the elections. It ended up being composed of all pros. They passed a bunch of laws that made the antis mad.
The antis decided to form their own government
because they did not really want to live under a pro
government. They decided to write a constitution of
their own. This was called the Topeka Constitution. It allowed only white men and Indians that were "civillized".
It was approved by KS, but Congress questioned its validity.
The Lecompton Constitution was next. It was drafted by
a pro legislature. It allowed slavery and voting rights to no one
except white men.
The 3rd constitution was the Leavenworth Constitution. It was a free-state
constution. It wasn't accepted by Congress either. This one allowed black men
to vote.
The 4th and final constitution, the one that was finally accepted
by Congress, was the Wynadotte Constitution. It allowed white
men to vote and women to vote on school boards. It was drafted in 1857, and Kansas finally became a state on January 29, 1861.