Mid-19th century America was marked by intense conflict and division. Even before the bloody American Civil War, the country was already rife with division that set the stage for the war. One of the most prominent events leading up to this great national schism was “Bleeding Kansas,” a series of violent confrontations in the newly acquired Kansas Territory between 1854 and 1859. This conflict arose from a volatile mix of pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers clashing over the future of their state. This conflict would act as a prelude to the larger civil war.
Prequel to the Civil War
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 allowed the residents of newly formed states to determine whether their state would be free or slave through votes. While this was initially meant to ease tensions between pro-slavery and abolitionist states, it ended up furthering inflaming tensions as newly formed states became battlegrounds.
Among these newly formed states was Kansa, which would soon find itself flooded with settlers from northern and southern states who fought for control not only for the state but for the soul of the nation.
As it prepared for its vote on slavery, different groups wished to swing the vote in their favor poured into the state. With more and more people arriving, Northerners and Southerners began to form armed militias and armed bands.
Violence became disturbingly common and a war nearly began in December 1855 when an antislavery settler was killed in a fight.
“Bleeding Kansas” truly began with the Sack of Lawrence on May 21, 1856, when a pro-slavery mob descended upon the town of Lawrence. They considered this town a “hotbed of abolitionism” and marched in to destroy the newspaper office.
As news spread, violence erupted across the country, even reaching the US Senate floor when Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was brutally attacked with a cane by Representative Preston S. Brooks of South Carolina. This assault was in retaliation for Sumner’s fervent speech condemning the “Crime Against Kansas” perpetrated by pro-slavery advocates.
Bleeding Kansas Horrifying Centuries
Amidst the escalating violence of Bleeding Kansas, one of the most brutal acts was the Pottawatomie Massacre. Shortly after the Sack of Lawrence, radical abolitionist John Brown and a small group of his followers launched a retaliatory strike against pro-slavery settlers along Pottawatomie Creek. Brown, convinced that drastic action was necessary to combat the spread of slavery, led his group to the homes of pro-slavery advocates. In a brutal and swift series of attacks, they executed five men.
This gruesome act of vengeance shocked the nation and further inflamed the violent conflict in Bleeding Kansas. The Pottawatomie Massacre not only exemplified the deep-seated animosities between pro- and anti-slavery forces but also underscored the lengths to which every emperor or individuals would go to defend their beliefs, setting a harsh precedent for the Civil War that loomed on the horizon.
As the Bleeding Kansas war began, John Brown’s memory was immortalized in a famous song.
“John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering in the grave,
But his soul goes marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah,
Glory, glory, hallelujah,
Glory, glory, hallelujah,
His soul goes marching on.He’s gone to be a soldier in the Army of the Lord,
He’s gone to be a soldier in the Army of the Lord,
He’s gone to be a soldier in the Army of the Lord,
His soul goes marching on.
John Brown’s knapsack is strapped upon his back,
John Brown’s knapsack is strapped upon his back,
John Brown’s knapsack is strapped upon his back,
His soul goes marching on.
John Brown died that the slaves might be free,
John Brown died that the slaves might be free,
John Brown died that the slaves might be free,
His soul goes marching on.“The stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down,
-Pete Seeger, Songwriter.
The stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down,
The stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down,
His soul goes marching on.”The stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down,
The stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down,
The stars above in Heaven now are looking kindly down,
His soul goes marching on.”
Kansas Becomes a Free State
In early 1861, after Abraham Lincoln became president, several Southern states left the United States. These states didn’t want Bleeding Kansas to be a free state, but they couldn’t stop it anymore. Their representatives in Congress had walked out, so Congress quickly approved Kansas joining the Union as a free state.
Meanwhile, Missouri tried to leave the United States too, but the Union government stayed in control. This meant Kansas’ free state government was safe from any major Confederate attack, although violence continued along the border between Kansas and Missouri throughout the Civil War.
Many years later, in 2006, the US government created a special area to remember the fight for freedom in Kansas and Missouri during this time. This area includes parts of both states.
The Legacy of Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, though a relatively short period, had a profound impact on the nation’s path to civil war. It demonstrated the deep-seated divisions over slavery and the willingness of both sides to resort to violence. The events in Kansas exposed the weaknesses of popular sovereignty and raised national anxieties about the possibility of a full-blown war. The brutal conflict in Bleeding Kansas served as a bloody preview of the even greater struggle that was to come – the American Civil War.
