HOMEPAGE * HISTORY
Eight Indian Tribes lived in Kansas before the coming of the white man. They included the Kansas, Osage and Pawnee. They lived in small villages and hunted buffalo, raised corn, beans and squash.
Spanish explorers led by Francisco Coronado came in 1541 looking for gold. Their expedition reached near the present-day Lindsborg.
In 1719, French adventurers claimed the region for France. They came to trade with the Indians. They built Fort Orleans near the mouth of the Osage River in 1724. Kansas warriors destroyed the fort a year later. In 1762 France ceded the Louisiana territory to Spain. In 1800, the Treaty of Madrid gave the land back to France.
In 1809 the United States acquired the land including Kansas in the Louisiana Purchase. The southwest corner of the state was acquired from Texas in 1850.
In 1812 Missouri became a state excluding the area of Kansas. In 1825, the federal government made Kansas Indian territory. From 1825 to 1840, nearly 30 tribes gave up land and moved to the Kansas territory, including the Shawnee, Delaware, Chippewa, Iowa, Wyandotte, and Kickapoo. In 1827, Col. Henry Leavenworth established Kansas' first white settlement.
In the 1840's, Kansas lay in the path of the settlers rush to Utah and California. Some pioneers, seeing the agricultural promise of Kansas, settled here instead. Treaties with the Indians were made and broken and in 1858, gold discoveries in Colorado brought a rush of settlers through the reservations in the western part of the state. Angry indians made many raids and uprisings that lasted until 1878.
In 1854, President Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska act which created the Territory of Kansas. It also provided that regional settlers would determine if the state were to be free or slave. Bitter battles between the factions gave the name "Bleeding Kansas" to the territory. An election in 1855 decided for the slavery forces. Angry "Free Staters" met in Topeka and set up a rival government but the U.S. refused to recognize that government.
The battle raged on often needing the intervention of Federal Troops. In 1859, the people of Kansas approved a constitution prohibiting slavery. The population was 107,206 at that time.
On January 29, 1861, Congress admitted Kansas to the Union as the 34th state. Charles Robinson, a Republican became the first Governor.
During the Civil War, Kansas sent more soldiers to the Union Army in proportion to it's size than any other state. Though not a war zone, confederates waged guerilla warfare along the eastern border. Quantrill's Raiders destroyed much of Lawrence killing more than 150 people.
South of Kansas was the vast region of Texas and cowboys drove Texas Longhorns to newly built railroads in Kansas.
By 1880, Kansas population was 996,096, but drought caused serious problems for farmers. Some built Dutch windmills to help pump water.
By 1900 most of the state was settled. Kansas approved state-wide prohibition in 1890 but many saloons continued to operate. Carrie Nation raided many of them in 1900.
In 1903 while drilling for gas, the nation's first helium supply was discovered at Dexter.
In 1912, Kansas became one of the first states to give women the vote.
In 1932, Alf Landon became the governor and gained national attention for balancing the state's budget while other states went into debt. Landon was defeated in the presidential election of 1936 by Franklin Roosevelt.
Through the 30's and 40's the economy boomed as demand for farm products continued after the war. During the 50's and 60's Kansas economy changed due to a new drought. By this time farmers had built dams and ponds and adopted new cultivation methods so the drought was not as devistating as the ones in the 30's.
Dwight D. Eisenhower grew up in Abilene and served as President from 1953 to 1961.
In 1972 Kansas voters approved an amendment that increase the terms of governors from two to four years. The admentment took effect in 1975.
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