kansas
No state's creation was more dramatic, more at the center of national attention, more involved in fundamental moral conflict, than that of Kansas. In a sense, the state's history began with the Indians of the area and the Spanish explorers. A moral conflict of pro-slavery forces in the Civil War that led to "Bleeding Kansas", and the moral contradiction between a declaration that claimed, "all people are created equally". A constitution pragmatically permitting slavery had led to the repeated compromise in American history until the issue found resolution in war. "Kansas as a body politic was born of that process and much of its permanent character or personality was determined by it," {K.Davis}. The state character has changed drastically over time. The first recorded history of this area was made by the Spanish chroniclers of the Francisco Vinquez de Coronado expedition. They set out from the Rio Grande to visit region in the present central part of the state they identified as Quivira. On this trip in the summer of 1541 they found the soil to their liking and capable of growing all products of Spain. The Indians were described as being physically attractive, but they lived in grass houses and possessed no gold, the primary o
There is great drama and some extravagance surrounding the settlement of any region, and Kansas was no exception. Between 1855 and 1888 there were one hundred and six counties organized in the state. Each county, upon organization, selected a county seat and struggled to gain control over the courthouse. The fight court houses led to high emotion, humor, and tragedy. In the meantime, men engaging in commerce fur trappers, and missionaries were gaining increased knowledge of the region that was to become Kansas. As unofficial explorers they marked out travel routes, recorded their experiences in diaries and journals, and helped to enlarge the scanty information about the area. Typical was William Becknell, who left central Missouri in September 1821 with a small party carrying goods on pack animals. His plans of trading with the upper Indians on the Arkansas was diverted to trading in Sante Fe, located on the northern fringe of the newly independent Mexico. So successful was the venture that Becknell repeated his trip the following year loading wagons and inaugurated the commercial use of the Sante Fe Trail, which extended across the future state and was to become a vital link of transportation from the Missouri River to Sante Fe for the next fifty years. By the 1820's, fur trappers, seeking the clusive beaver, were blazing an overland trail westward that was soon to be identified as the Oregon Trail. This route, cutting across the northeastern portion of the future state, became an important emigrant trail in the 1840's and later. When the technology of Kansas started to fire up it led to changes in the community, farms, and transportation. Farms were carved out of prairie grassland; trees and orchards were planted. One of the biggest technological advances occurred in the area of transportation and manufacturing. The impact of new railroad lines was immense. By law public roads were built on every section line. Mines and quarries were opened, business developed, and some flourished. Some manufacturing plants were built to meet local needs. Schools, churches, and fraternal groups were organized to satisfy desire of Kansans to build up their local community. Many Kansans were involved in the Civil War, primarily on the Union side. Only one battle, that at Mink Creek, took place in Kansas. However, the raid led by William C. Quantrill, on Lawrence in August 1863 left one hundred and fifty people and many building destroyed. More died at the hands Quantrills raid than in the partisan conflict in "Bleeding Kansas". The raid of Quantrill on Lawrence lacked the impact of earlier slaughters. The twin territories of Kansas and Nebraska were created by the Kansas- Nebraska of May 1854. To avoid a clash over slavery the act proclaimed that the further status of these territories would be decided not by congress but by the settlers. The long debates over the Kansas-Nebraska Act widened the breach between the North and the South and brought in a new political organization, the Republican party. In 1859 a constitutional convention was held at Wyandotte, it was the first territorial convention that had delegates from both major parties. The halting of slavery issue was no longer in doubt, and it was recognized that Kansas would become a free state. The convention also set the new western boundaries for Kansas at twenty-five degrees west of Washington.
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Approximate Word count = 2555
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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