Welcome To Kansas: “Her Light Shall Shine”
CHAPTER 6
WORDS TO UNDERSTAND
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Barbed wire
Bigotry
Chain migration
Class system
Communal
Depression
Draft
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Dug out
Emancipation
Famine
Irrigation
Pacifist
Sections
Sod house
Tenant
PEOPLE TO KNOW
Ernest de Boissiere
 Abbie Bright
 Philip Bright
 George Grant
 Flora Moorman Heston
 Benjamin “Pap” Singleton
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WELCOME TO KANSAS
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Post Civil War
 Many
wanted to come to Kansas
 American Indians not welcomed
 Droughts ended
LET OUR LIGHT SHINE
Most settlers were from other states
 Immigration to Kansas was encouraged
 U.S. government sold land cheap
 Railroads industry resulted in increased
population.
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THE HOMESTEAD ACT
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Horace Greeley- “Go West, young man, go West!
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West was a symbol of new opportunities
Homestead Act encouraged land ownership
Homestead requirements
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If over 21 you could claim up to 160 acres of public land.
U.S. citizen or intend to become one
$10 fee, had to live and cultivate the land
After 5 years if the land showed improvement then the
settler would be given a clear title.
If a settler wanted to buy the land before the 5 years it was
$1.25 per acre
TENANT FARMING
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Land was free, but farming was not
 Successful
homesteaders needed $500-1,000 to
start.
 Many had less and failed
 Went
back home
 Or became tenant farmers
Cultivated someone else’s land as a renter
 1890 almost 1/3 of Kansas farms were run by tenant farmers
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OTHER WAYS TO GET LAND
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The Preemption Act
 Squatter
could take up residence on public land
 After 14 months they could buy it up to 160 acres
for $1.25/acre
 Advantages
squatter could buy the land before it went up for public
sale.
 Protected improvements squatters already made.
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OTHER WAYS TO GET LAND CONT.
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The Timber Culture Act
Allowed settlers to enlarge their land holdings
 160 acres of land could be claimed
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 Add
a large amount of trees to a portion of the land
 They did not have to live on the land
 If requirement are met settlers could purchase land for
$1.25/acre
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Auction
Land was sold at auctions
 If land was not purchased at auction it could be bought
for $1.25/acre
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ADAPTING TO THE PLAINS
 Hardships
 Economy
cycles were harsh in KS
 Drought
 Blizzards
and other harsh weather
 Grasshoppers
PROBLEMS
SOLUTIONS
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Lack of wood for housing
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Lack of wood for fuel
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Lack of wood for fences
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Lack of surface water
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Build earth houses, dug outs
and sod houses
Bundled hay, corn cobs, and
dried manure (buffalo/cow
chips)
Barbed wire and limestone
fences
Dug deep wells
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Water pulled up by windmills
Put in to ponds for drinking
water and irrigation canals.
ADAPTING TO THE PLAINS CONT.
AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATON TO KANSAS
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Life in the south was difficult
 Many
were tenant farmers
 Violence and resentment
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Kansas was an attractive option for many
African Americans
 Symbolism
of the Promised land
 Struggle against slavery in the state
 Symbolism of John Brown
 Land ownership
AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATION TO KANSAS
CONT.
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Settlements (counties)
 Cherokee
 Graham
 Hodgeman
 Morris
 Most
famous settlement community was
Nicodemus in western Kansas
AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATION TO KANSAS
CONT.
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Nicodemus
 Developed
through land speculation (land
purchased and town planned before anyone lived
there)
 Freed slaves from Kentucky settled there
 Named for a slave who purchased his own freedom
AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATION TO KANSAS
CONT.
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Problems in Nicodemus
 Settlers
arrived to late to farm
 Far away from the more populated areas in the
state
 Physical environment (Kentucky has lots of forests)
AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATION TO KANSAS
CONT.
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Exodusters
 Name
comes for Exodus in the bible
 Traveled from the deep south
 Generally poor
 Came in the thousands usually by steamboat
 Many
became sick and died on the journey
 Many exited at Wyandotte
 Wyandotte paid some to move away to Atchinson
because they could not take in any more of the poor.
AFRICAN AMERICAN MIGRATION TO KANSAS
CONT.
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Exodusters
 Because
of the huge numbers of poor along the
Missouri river in Kansas jobs were very sparse.
 Governor John St. John formed the Freemen’s
Relief Organization which moved exodusters to
cities around the state with jobs.
FOREIGN IMMIGRANTS COME TO KANSAS
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All immigrants experience a “push/pull” factor
 Something
is pushing them away from home
 Something is pulling them toward KS
Railroads actively recruited immigrants to come
to KS
 KS State Bureau of Immigration published
pamphlets to promote settlement opportunities
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FOREIGN IMMIGRANTS COME TO KANSAS CONT.
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German Settlers
 Largest
European group to settle in KS
 Settled in all counties but particularly in central KS
 More than 60 newspapers printed in German.
 Most came for economic opportunities
 Farming
 Railroad
 Chain
Migration
 News
from immigrants already in KS inspired others to
follow and come to KS
FOREIGN IMMIGRANTS COME TO KANSAS CONT.
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Settlers from the British Isles
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The British class system mixed with the tradition of taking
over in a fathers given trade meant there were few
opportunities for advancements.
Wakefield was a British settlement
Runnymede
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British settlement for 5 years
F.J.S. Trunly offered to teach the sons of British upper class
how to farm for $500
Instead the sons staged horse races and hunted foxes.
The parents got sick of it and brought the kids back home
FOREIGN IMMIGRANTS COME TO KANSAS CONT.
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The French Settlement of Silkville
 Ernest
de Boissiere
 Upper
class Frenchman
 Believed in the equality of all men
 Arrived after Napoleon came to power
Started in New Orleans
 Gained wealth operating merchant ships
 Donated a substantial sum of money to an orphanage for
African American children
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FOREIGN IMMIGRANTS COME TO KANSAS CONT.
 Ernest
de Boissiere
 Moved
to KS (1869) because he felt it would be a more
tolerant area
Organized the Prairie Home Association establishing a
communal settlement
 $200 a person could buy a membership to the Prairie Home
Association
 All members would live together and share the work
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The business became producing silk
Became know as Silkville cause de Boissiere imported mulberry
trees, silk worms, and workers from France immigrated to KS
Produced 300 yards of silk a day
FOREIGN IMMIGRANTS COME TO KANSAS CONT.
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Swedish Immigrants
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Reasons for coming
A
famine hit Sweden
 Sweden was over populated
 Potato crops went bad
 Religious Freedom
3rd largest immigrant group in KS
 1st Swedish Agricultural Company brought many
Swedes over.
 Nearly 100 settled in Lindsborg (wanted a pure
Lutheran faith)
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