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| Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 |
The settlers of Kansas overall did not want slavery in their state. However, people who lived in the surrounding states, such as Missouri, would cross the border and vote to rig the election to allow slavery. These people were called border ruffians. At the time, there were only about 1,500 settlers in Kansas, and over 6,000 votes were counted!
The border ruffians were successful, and Kansas entered the US as a pro-slavery state with a pro-slavery government in Lecompton. Settlers of Kansas were not happy with their government, yet they had no power because only pro-slavery officials could be elected into office! Therefore, the citizens of Kansas decided to make their own government in Topeka.
On May 21, 1856, violence erupted when pro-slavery settlers began to destroy anti-slavery towns such as Topeka.
This violence spread to surrounding areas such as Washington DC. Charles Sumner, a senator from Massachusetts, gave a speech saying how pro-slavery settlers were destroying Kansas. This caused Preston Brooks, of South Carolina, to beat Sumner near death with a cane on the floor of the US Senate.
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| Charles Sumner being caned by Preston Brooks |
On May 24th, 1856, an abolitionist from Ohio by the name of John Brown had traveled to Kansas with his sons to encourage the violence. He murdered five pro-slavery settlers.
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| John Brown |
While no one is sure how many people died during Bleeding Kansas, it is assumed to be approximately 55 deaths.
Finally, in January of 1861, Kansas was admitted into the union as a free state.
Bleeding Kansas lead to the division of the country and began the formation of the Republican Party to abolish slavery.
Learn more about Bleeding Kansas by watching this educational video:
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