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The Civil War in Kansas
Kansas-Nebraska Act [Full Text]
Bleeding Kansas
John Brown
Lecompton Constitution
| March 7, 1827 | Colonel Henry Leavenworth ordered west to establish a fort in the area of present-day Kansas | Kansas |
| May 8, 1827 | Leavenworth reports he has established a fort on the Missouri River, the first U. S. fort in present-day Kansas | Kansas |
| June 26, 1846 | Dragoons and volunteers leave Fort Leavenworth and head west to reinforce California and seize San Diego and Los Angeles. They return from a successful mission in August, 1847 | Kansas |
| Mexican American War | ||
| May 26, 1854 | Joint Committee of Congress approves the Kansas-Nebraska Act | Kansas |
| Kansas-Nebraska Act [Full Text] | ||
| Kansas-Nebraska Act | ||
| May 30, 1854 | President Franklin Pierce signs the Kansas-Nebraska Act into law. | Kansas |
| Bleeding Kansas | ||
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| Causes of the Civil War | ||
| Kansas-Nebraska Act | ||
| Franklin Pierce | ||
| July 7, 1854 | Franklin Pierce swears Andrew Reeder in as territorial governor of Kansas in Washington, D. C. | Kansas |
| Franklin Pierce | ||
| August 1, 1854 | City of Lawrence, Kansas is founded | Kansas |
| Bleeding Kansas | ||
| November 29, 1854 | Pro-slavery forces from Missouri cross the Kansas border and elect John Whitfield, a pro-slavery candidate as territorial delegate to Washington. More than 1,700 illegal votes were registered | Kansas |
| March 3, 1855 | Franklin Pierce removes Andrew Reeder as territorial governor of Kansas | Kansas |
| March 30, 1855 | Kansas elects its first territorial legislature. Pro-slavery Missourians cross the border into Kansas to vote against Freestate candidates | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| May 22, 1855 | Kansas hold a supplimentary election for districts where voting on March 30, 1855 was disputed. In the 6 districts, 10 Freesoilers and 3 pro-slavery men were elected | Kansas |
| July 2, 1855 | The Kansas legislature, meeting in Pawnee and controlled by pro-slave forces, expels all "Free-staters" and moves the legislature to Shawnee Mission, near the Missouri state line | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| August 14, 1855 | In response to their explusion by the pro-slavery forces in the Kansas legislature, free-soilers hold a convention in Lawrence. | Kansas |
| September 5, 1855 | Free-staters meet in Big Springs, Kansas to elect representatives to a constitutional convention in Topeka | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| October 23, 1855 | Topeka Convention convened | Kansas |
| November 2, 1855 | Topeka Constitution adopted by the Free Staters | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| January 24, 1856 | Franklin Pierce rejects the Topeka Constitution because the vote did not constitute "...the body politic" | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| Franklin Pierce | ||
| March 24, 1856 | President Franklin Pierce sends all "...documents touching the affairs of the Territory of Kansas" between the dates of January 1, 1855 and June 30, 1855 to the House of Representatives to comply with an earlier request | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| Franklin Pierce | ||
| May 19, 1856 | Charles Sumner begins his "Crime against Kansas" speech, which concludes tomorrow | Kansas |
| Bleeding Kansas | ||
| Sumner and Brooks | ||
| Preston S. Brooks | ||
| Charles Sumner | ||
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| May 21, 1856 | Samuel Jones, a pro-slavery sheriff leads a band of border ruffians on a raid against Lawrence, Kansas | Kansas |
| Bleeding Kansas | ||
| May 24, 1856 May 25, 1856 |
Pottawatomie Massacre - John Brown kills five pro-slavers along this Kansas Creek | Kansas |
| Bleeding Kansas | ||
| John Brown | ||
| June 2, 1856 | Battle of Blackjack, near Baldwin in Douglas County | Kansas |
| July 4, 1856 | Under direct orders from President Franklin Pierce, Edwin Vose Sumner leads 200 infantrymen into Topeka, Kansas, unlimbers his artillery and informs the freestaters they may not hold a convention. | Kansas |
| Edwin Vose Sumner | ||
| Franklin Pierce | ||
| Bleeding Kansas | ||
| August 16, 1856 | Battle of Fort Titus | Kansas |
| Bleeding Kansas | ||
| September 15, 1856 | Battle of Hickory Point | Kansas |
| July 29, 1857 | Col. Edwin Sumners attacks 300 mounted Cheyenne at Solomon's Ford in Kansas. Jeb Stuart is wounded in the attack. | Kansas |
| Edwin Vose Sumner | ||
| J. E. B. Stuart | ||
| September 7, 1857 | The Lecompton (KS) Convention, a pro-slave constitutional convention convenes | Kansas |
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| October 5, 1857 October 6, 1857 |
Kansas free-staters win control of the legislative branch in elections | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| October 19, 1857 | Proslavery factions reconvene the Lecompton Constitutional Convention to draft a document | Kansas |
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| November 7, 1857 | The Lecompton (KS) Constitutional Convention adopts a pro-slavery constitution and approves a ratification election on December 21, 1857 | Kansas |
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| December 2, 1857 | "Free-staters" take control of the Kansas legislature following their election in October | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| December 7, 1857 | Free-state congress calls for a third option in voting on the Lecompton Constitution - rejection of the document. | Kansas |
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| December 8, 1857 | James Buchanan announces he supports the Lecompton Constitution in a message to the Senate | Kansas |
| James Buchanan | ||
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| December 9, 1857 | Breaking with the Democrats, Stephen Douglas announces he is against the Lecompton Constitution | Kansas |
| Stephen A. Douglas | ||
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| December 17, 1857 | The Free-state legislature adds a third option to the Lecompton ratification vote: reject the Lecompton Constitution. This is not on the ballot of Dec. 21 | Kansas |
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| December 21, 1857 | Lecompton Constitution ratification vote. Voters were not voting for the Constitution, rather they were voting for the Constitution with slavery or the Constitution without slavery. With freestaters waiting for the vote on January 4, pro-slavery factions easily carry the vote | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| January 4, 1858 | A second ratification vote is held for the Lecompton Constitution. The Free-staters reject the Lecompton Constitution. | Kansas |
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| February 2, 1858 | President Buchanan reiterates his support of the Lecompton Constitution to the Senate, which accepts the document 32-25 over the objections of Stephen Douglas | Kansas |
| James Buchanan | ||
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| English Bill | ||
| Stephen A. Douglas | ||
| March 23, 1858 | Free-stater convention convenes in Leavenworth, Kansas | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| April 3, 1858 | Leavenworth Constitution is adopted by a Free-stater constitutional convention. It is opposed by the Buchanan administration because it does not represent the people of the state | Kansas |
| James Buchanan | ||
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| April 23, 1858 | In an attempt to force the acceptance of the Lecompton Constitution, a joint committee of Congress drafts the English Bill. | Kansas |
| Alexander Stephens | ||
| William Seward | ||
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| English Bill | ||
| August 2, 1858 | In a straight up or down vote required by the U. S. Congress for admission, the Lecomption Constitution as modified by the English Bill is overwhelmingly defeated. It is so bad that both pro-slave and freestate factions vote against it. The state must approve a different constitution. | Kansas |
| English Bill | ||
| Lecompton Constitution | ||
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| July 5, 1859 July 29, 1859 |
The 4th Constitutional Convention, Wyandotte, Kansas | Kansas |
| Bleeding Kansas | ||
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| July 5, 1859 | The fourth Kansas Constitutional Convention is convened in Wyandotte, Kansas. | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| July 29, 1859 | The Wyandotte Constitution is adopted by the convention | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| October 4, 1859 | The Wyandotte Constitution is ratified by the state of Kansas. It abolishes slavery. | Kansas |
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| January 29, 1861 | Kansas admitted to the Union | Kansas |
| Bleeding Kansas | ||
| Kansas becomes a state | ||
| July 4, 1861 | The Kansas Flag is introduced | Kansas |
| Flags of the Civil War | ||
| August 19, 1863 | 300 men under the command of William Quantrill, popularly known as Quantrill's Raiders, leave Blackwater Creek, Missouri heading for Lawrence, Kansas | Kansas Missouri |
| August 21, 1863 | Quantrill's Raiders, now numbering more 400, attack Lawrence, Kansas, killing every male they could find who was old enough to carry a gun (a total of 183 men). One they missed was U. S. Senator James H. Lane, who hid in a cornfield in his nightshirt. Quantrill's men burned the town following the raid | Kansas Missouri |
| January 11, 1867 | Kansas ratifies the 14th Amendment | Kansas |
| 14th Amendment |
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