 The name Bleeding Kansas refers to the violent
sectional conflicts in the American Midwest in
the mid to late 1850s.
 Also referred to as Bloody Kansas or the Border
War, Bleeding Kansas was a very significant
event in American History illustrating the
depth of the struggle between “slave” and “free”
states.
 Compromise of 1850 – provided temporary unity between
north and south but could not remain effective forever
 Manifest Destiny
- With the attitude that Americans were destined to
expand westward, America had plans to build a
transcontinental railroad. According to Senator Stephen
Douglass’ wishes for an Eastern Terminal in Chicago,
Nebraska would need to be organized as a territory.
 Kansas Nebraska Act; Popular Sovereignty
 Organized Nebraska and Kansas as states and
instituted popular sovereignty for deciding whether
the states would be slave or free.
Popular sovereignty – doctrine under which the status of
slavery in a territory is determined by the inhabitants
of the land
 It was assumed that Kansas would be slave and that
Nebraska would be free as a result of the passage of the
Act, but this assumption was
not completely correct.
 Border Ruffians were southerners living in Missouri
that crossed the border to Kansas in order to help the
Southerners win the elections which would decide if
the state would be slave or free.
 Ruffians hated Northerners and they initiated the Raid
of Lawrence, Kansas. They crossed the state border
and looted and burned buildings of the free soil
community.
 The Raid of Lawrence is sometimes recognized as one
of the opening shots” of the Civil War.
 Another notable “opening shot” of the Civil War in
Bleeding Kansas was the Pottawatomie Massacre.
 Led by John Brown, this massacre was an
abolitionist attack on a proslavery settlement.
 Five proslavery men were taken from their homes
and hacked to death in the attack.
 Raised in an antislavery home, this militant
abolitionist put his life on the line to defend his cause.
John Brown had a mission to abolish slavery, and he
went to whatever extreme measures were necessary to
accomplish this mission.
 John Brown emerged as a significant
figure in antebellum sectional conflict
and was hanged on December 2, 1859
because of his violent actions in his
quest for justice.
 The battle took place on August 30, 1856 when pro-
slavery forces led by John Reid shot John Brown’s son.
John Brown received warning that hundreds of proslavery soldiers were approaching the town of
Osawatomie and he quickly assembled a small fighting
force.
 This battle even went to an extreme of
utilizing cannons, further illustrating how
deeply divided the country had become.
monument for the Battle of Osawatomie
 The violence of sectional conflict was not limited to
Kansas. Even Congress witnessed a violent encounter
as abolitionist Charles Sumner attacked the South
with his words and was attacked by Preston Brooks.
 Sumner delivered a speech in Congress titled “The
crime against Kansas” in which he even accused
senators that were advocates of slavery. In response to
this, Congressman Preston Brooks
beat him senseless with a cane.
 With effort to win Kansas to the “slave” side or the
“free” side of America, many constitutions were
written for the future of Kansas.
 The Constitution written in the city of Lecompton was
a pro-slavery document, and was one of the most
significant constitutions because President James
Buchanan encouraged its ratification.
However, the document was not ratified and
an election was organized by Congress which
ultimately declared Kansas a free state.
 In the conflicts and actual
battles preceding the Civil war,
about 55 people died total.
 Although the South had tried to get Kansas to become
a slave state, Kansas became free in the end, reflecting
a prevailing sentiment of antislavery.
 The murder and mayhem of Bleeding Kansas were not
actual Civil War battles, but they foreshadowed the
deadly conflict that was quickly approaching.
"Bleeding Kansas." America's Civil War. Blue and Gray Trail, 12 Nov 2006.
Web. 25 May 2012.
<http://blueandgraytrail.com/event/Bleeding_Kansas >.
"Bleeding Kansas." Antebellum People and Events. PBS, n.d. Web. 25 May
2012. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/>.
"Bleeding Kansas." United States History. Live Study Group, n.d. Web. 25
May 2012. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h84.html>.
Kelly, Martin. "Bleeding Kansas." About.com American History.
About.com Education, 2012. Web. 25 May 2012.
<http://americanhistory.about.com/od/beforethewar/g/bleedingkansa
s.htm >.