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Kansas City, Topeka, Wichita, Shawnee Mission, Lawrence, Manhattan, Olathe, Hutchinson, Liberal, Marysville, Salina, Atlanta, Athol, Atchison, Assaria, Ashland, Arnold, Arma, Arlington, Arkansas City, Argonia, Arcadia, Anthony, Andover, Andale, Americus, Altoona, Alton, Altamont, Alta Vista
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Occupying the
central position in the conterminous United States, Kansas
is one of the nation's leading agricultural states. It is
15th in size among the states. Kansas is bordered by
Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Colorado.
Kansas is rich with history. In fact, Kansas' history
predates statehood and even that of the United States. From
the first documented traveler, over 400 years of trials,
tribulations, and triumphs have helped mold Kansas into the
vibrant, prosperous, rich State we know today.
In 1540, Coronado found his way to Kansas near the
present-day Lindsborg, as he was exploring the “new world”
in search of gold. But, what he did find was land which he
viewed as “the best that I have ever seen for producing all
the products of Spain” (The Capper /MRI Quick-Fact Book of
Kansas, p. 23).
Although Coronado is believed to be the first traveler to
Kansas, the Native Americans were the first inhabitants.
Eight Indian Tribes lived in Kansas before the coming of the
white man. They included the Kansas, Osage and Pawnee. They
lived in small villages and hunted buffalo, raised corn,
beans and squash. There were many reasons why Native
American nations came to this land. Much like the Kansas we
know today, they saw great opportunity in moving here.
Buffalo as far as the eye could see roamed the prairies; the
fecund soil was perfect for growing crops; the many rivers
and streams provided enough of a water supply to settle and
live peaceful, stationary lives.
In 1719, French adventurers claimed the region for France.
They came to trade with the Indians. They built Fort Orleans
near the mouth of the Osage River in 1724. Kansas warriors
destroyed the fort a year later. In 1762 France ceded the
Louisiana territory to Spain. In 1800, the Treaty of Madrid
gave the land back to France.
In 1809 the United States acquired the land including Kansas
in the Louisiana Purchase. The southwest corner of the state
was acquired from Texas in 1850.
In 1812 Missouri became a state excluding the area of
Kansas. In 1825, the federal government made Kansas Indian
territory. From 1825 to 1840, nearly 30 tribes gave up land
and moved to the Kansas territory, including the Shawnee,
Delaware, Chippewa, Iowa, Wyandotte, and Kickapoo. In 1827,
Col. Henry Leavenworth established Kansas' first white
settlement.
The exploration of the western half of the United States
probably can be considered the most important event in the
development of Kansas. As the highly populated east coast
began to crowd and promises of new world success diminished,
people followed the stories of opportunity and prosperity
west. Thus, the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails opened and acted
as a river of hope flowing to the Pacific Ocean. As pioneers
followed dreams and fled hardship, they found Kansas to be
the best of all worlds. For in Kansas, people could settle
their families on wide open, farmable land, escape societal
and religious persecution, and begin to live their dreams.
Unfortunately, the pioneers didn't find themselves free of
all trouble. As more and more settled, disputes arose among
Native Americans and settlers, and settlers themselves.
There just wasn't enough of this great land to go around. A
solution was to build forts to keep the peace and protect
travelers. As a result, towns like Fort Leavenworth and
(Fort) Hays were established.
In the 1840's, Kansas lay in the path of the settlers rush
to Utah and California. Some pioneers, seeing the
agricultural promise of Kansas, settled here instead.
Treaties with the Indians were made and broken and in 1858,
gold discoveries in Colorado brought a rush of settlers
through the reservations in the western part of the state.
Angry indians made many raids and uprisings that lasted
until 1878.
In 1854, President Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska act
which created the Territory of Kansas. The boundaries
included much of Colorado, as well as what is now known as
Pikes Peak. It also provided that regional settlers would
determine if the state were to be free or slave. Bitter
battles between the factions gave the name "Bleeding Kansas"
to the territory. An election in 1855 decided for the
slavery forces. Angry "Free Staters" met in Topeka and set
up a rival government but the U.S. refused to recognize that
government.
Lawrence was attacked and ransacked in 1856 because
pro-slavery forces wanted to put an end to Lawrence
residents' harboring of slaves. Retaliatory efforts were led
by John Brown, his sons, and others. These led to the Battle
of Black Jack, where several hundred slave-state Missourians
avenged Brown's actions. Osawatomie was almost completely
destroyed in a later encounter between Brown and the
Missourians.
The implication concerning whether or not Kansas should
become a slave state was a far-reaching one. There was such
a delicate balance of opinion that it took four attempts at
writing a constitution for ratification by Congress. The
battle raged on often needing the intervention of Federal
Troops. In 1859, the people of Kansas approved a
constitution prohibiting slavery. The population was 107,206
at that time. In April of 1860 the Kansas constitution was
approved by the House of Representatives, but was refused by
the Senate which was under a pro-slavery majority. Because
of the Senate's refusal to admit Kansas as a state, the
issue erupted into a national political issue. In order to
be admitted, there had to be a substantial shift in power in
the Senate and the presidency.It wasn't until January 29,
1861, that the bill making Kansas the 34th state reached
President James Buchanan's desk and was signed.
If Kansas had a victory entering the United States as a free
state, then their contribution to the Civil War effort
helped provide a victory to all of America. All told, over
20,000 Kansans fought on behalf of freeing the
Union—two-thirds of the fighting-age male population at that
time. Most of these soldiers fought elsewhere; however, one
major Civil War battle in Kansas was the Battle of Mine
Creek in 1864. Had this battle been won by the Confederacy,
Kansas' infant existence as a free state would have been in
jeopardy.
The Civil War ended, violence ceased, and a rebuilding
process began in other states. Unfortunately, for Kansas,
violence continued as white settlers moved in and encroached
upon the territory of Native Americans. Even though forts on
the plains continued to provide protection for settlers,
many raids and mini-battles were fought, reaching an apex in
1867 when nearly 130 settlers were killed. Native
American-Settler skirmishes waned in the latter half of the
1860's.
The postwar advent of the railroad into Kansas made the
state a popular destination for cattle drives in the cowtown
era of the late 1860s and early 1870s -- an era that has
lasted far longer in romantic western fiction than it ever
did in historical fact. Still, some legends of the Old West
roamed these plains -- Buffalo Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickock,
the Dalton Gang, Gen. George A. Custer and Annie Oakley.
In 1874, Mennonite settlers arrived, bringing with them a
strain of Turkey Red wheat that found fertile soil in the
Kansas plains and led to its present-day claim as "The Wheat
State." As the railroads and cattlemen moved on, the wheat
farmers moved in and transformed Kansas from a rowdy Wild
West locale to a rural, agricultural-dependent environment.
But it was not so bucolic that a few other characters
couldn't stir the national imagination. Not the least among
them was Carry A. Nation (her real name; born Carry Amelia
Moore, she married David Nation), the fiery,
hatchet-wielding temperance advocate of the 1890s who would
descend on Kansas saloons to smash the fixtures and censure
the patrons.
Early settlers were largely New Englanders of Anglo-Saxon
stock, but later ethnic groups included Swedes, Volga
Germans, Czechs, Bohemians, Germans, Norwegians, Russians
and others attracted by jobs and land.
Many pockets of European culture, such as the Swedes in
Lindsborg and Czechs in Wilson, thrive today.
Meanwhile, Kansas continued to grow and develop. Schools,
farms, and main streets cropped up all over the State.
Railroads paved the way for the further proliferation of
modernization. People could travel and transport goods and
services more easily, resulting in the establishment of
towns like Wichita, Dodge City, and Newton. The great
prairie enabled Kansas to establish the country's eminent
cattle industry. And, the farmland that attracted Indians
and impressed Coronado earned Kansas the nickname—the Wheat
State.
The dominance of agriculture and the demands for food
created by World War I led to more and more Kansas prairie
being plowed under for production, which led to prosperity
in the 1920s. But that was a direct contributor to the Dust
Bowl devastation of the 1930s.
Modern agricultural practices, derived from lessons of the
Dust Bowl, have revolutionized farming. Today, both wheat
and beef are major products of Kansas, as are airplanes and
oil.
Through the 20th century, Kansas has contributed several
major figures to the national political scene, including
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme commander of allied forces
in Europe during World War II and later the 34th U.S.
president. Kansas has produced two other presidential
candidates who captured the Republican nomination in Alf
Landon (1936) and Bob Dole (1996).
In this century Kansas has changed from being primarily a
cattle and wheat state to a thriving industrial and
agricultural state. As the center of the 48 contiguous
states, Kansas has proven to be an attractive location for
many companies serving national and international markets.
Technology advanced, enabling planes to fly and trains to
run on diesel instead of steam. In the early 20th century,
Kansas began what is now the greatest airplane producing
center in the world. More efficient farm equipment helped
make Kansas the largest exporter of wheat, and energy drawn
from its oil wells helped power a nation. Kansas has never
been free of adversity. Throughout its proud, yet difficult
history, the citizens of this state have fought for
prosperity and success.
The message inscribed on our State Seal, “Ad Astra Per
Aspera,” or “To the Stars Through Difficulty,” reflects the
adversity of this great State's history and the promise of
its present and future.
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