What Role Did Kansas Play In The Civil War

Kansas played a big role in the Civil War before and after it became a state. While Kansas was becoming a state, there was an outrage on slavery in the United States. The Northern states fought for anti-slavery while the Southern states wanted to include slavery in the state. Kansas had many battles while in the Civil War, and the brave men of Kansas fought hard and long to protect their wives and children living with them in their state. Although many people were trying to make Kansas a confederate state, the men fighting would not let that happen. Kansas was stuck in between the Confederates of the South and the Union of the North. Kansas got in a few skirmish’s trying to defend itself as a free state against all the other states trying
Now may people think of John Brown with a big bushy beard, and running around like a mad man fighting against slavery, but he never started growing out his beard until authorities were looking for him. That’s when he went full beard (Williams 79). An Ohioan by the name James Montgomery help John Brown with his fight against slavery as the went helping slaves everywhere (Spurgeon 15). John Brown had two wives in his 59 years of life fighting against slavery. He had seven kids after his first wife, and 13 kids after his second wife. With such a big family, john brown was forced to stay on the move with his whole family, to keep away from creditors. This was hard because his family was so big, and John Brown refused to leave any of them behind. No matter what the circumstances where (William 79). In response of the Lawrence raid John Brown went into slave holding territory, kidnapping 5 men who weren’t even in the raid and Brown ended up killing all 5 men (Corrick 30). Many people think the John Brown is the man that ended the slavery fight in Kansas. He did so much to help out the slaves in the United States, even thought he was so violent while he was fighting (Williams 81). On December 2, 1859, John Brown was killed by being hung because he was convicted of murder and treason. Abolitionists didn’t deny any part of John Browns history. They thought he was a very courageous
Most of the gangs back then were like gangs now-a-days. Men called their gangs “Bushwackers” or “Jayhawkers” (Hearn 151). These men traveled around Kansas using violence to convince people to like the idea of antislavery. Since so many men were fighting in the Civil War, they needed rifles to fight for Kansas. Approximately 100 sharp rifles were smuggled to men fighting against slavery (Smithsonian 30). These rifles where smuggled in between the years of 1854 and 1858. In those four years of smuggling rifles, the men transporting the crates of the guns and ammunition would call them ‘’bibles’’. They would also write the word ‘’bibles’’ on the crates so no one got