| In the 1850s, white settlers began to push for | | | | pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, and four |
| territorial government, and by 1853, Congress had | | | | different competing constitutions for Kansas, earning |
| decided that eastern Kansas should be open to | | | | the territory the nickname of "Bleeding Kansas". |
| settlement. The treaties with Native Americans were | | | | Eventually, Kansas was admitted as the 34th state |
| renegotiated, and the U.S. Government regained | | | | of the Union on January 29th, 1861 as a free state. |
| nearly all the land that it had ceded to them "forever" | | | | During the American Civil War (1861 to 1865), most |
| only a few years before. The Indians were then | | | | Kansans strongly favored the Union. More than |
| largely relocated to Oklahoma. | | | | 20,000 men were enlisted from the state, a |
| In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act became law, and | | | | remarkable number considering the state had only |
| established the Nebraska and Kansas Territories. A | | | | 30,000 men of military age. These forces suffered |
| controversial provision of the Act was that settlers in | | | | over 8,500 casualties during the war. During the war, |
| the territories would decide for themselves whether | | | | many guerilla raids and atrocities took place in the |
| to allow slavery within the borders ("popular | | | | state, the worst of which occured at Lawrence |
| sovereignty"), rather than following the earlier | | | | which destroyed much of the city include the |
| Missouri Compromise which banned slavery North of | | | | massacre of about 200 men and boys. The biggest |
| 36°30'. The Kansas-Nebraska Act led to violence | | | | battle in the state was the Battle of Mine Creek |
| and chaos in Kansas with fighting between | | | | which involved around 25,000 men. |