Bad Blood: The Border War that Triggered the Civil War

the production of bad blood was made possible through the generous support of the fred and lou hartwig foundation additional support was provided by the missouri division of tourism the kansas division of travel and tourism and the kansas state historical society the war the one we know as the civil war began long before the firing on fort sumter in april 1861 in fact it began long before abraham lincoln became president long before the confederate state seceded from the union and long before battles named bull run or gettysburg ever entered our war lexicon the true flashpoint over the thorny question of slavery didn't happen in the north or the south the prelude to the bitterest of wars began in the american west between the budding territory of kansas and her frontier neighbor missouri not only was blood spilt but fraud treason and terror with the order of the day [Music] the echoes of which have caused bad blood between the two states for over 150 years when old john brown heard about sumner's beating he went crazy hey then as to the kansas code it shall never be enforced [Applause] we will fight sometime by god we will fight the american civil war has often been touted as the triumph of the good and moral industrial north over the evil southern slaveocracy that is the luxury of those who won the war they write the history the history of bleeding kansas between 1854 and 1861 has also been subjected to such imbalanced treatment for missouri families have long contended that their forefathers did their share of bleeding history has painted missourians as whiskey-drinking frontiersmen who tried to force slavery onto the new territory they were often compared to the gentile bostonian who fought piously for the plight of the bondsmen but was a question over slavery as simple as that looking back is there a way we can see both sides to this border conflict with the missourians and their southern backers really devilish backwoods pukes were the new england puritans truly pure in their motives and for what truly did they fight was this an epic struggle for the freedom of black men or a struggle for the rights of white men to determine their own future from the words of the people who lived it this is what we're here to find out and whether or not we can right the wrongs of the past the truth as best known is here told [Music] do in the 1850s missouri was our western frontier those seeking riches in california oregon and new mexico launched their adventures from the westernmost missouri towns of kansas city independence and saint joseph the last vestiges of civilization before entering the great american desert the question of slavery was no stranger to missouri the state entered the union under a cloud of concession between northern and southern politicians creating the missouri compromise in 1820 and the infamous mason-dixon line which made missouri the northernmost state allowing slavery initially slavery had not been crucial to the state's growth as it had been in the deep south sometime in the fire but by the 1850s the peculiar institution was on the wane in the southern states and on the rise in missouri especially in the area known as little dixie along the central missouri river where the cash crops were tobacco and hemp [Music] the culture hemp was found to be more profitable more so than cotton in the south at that time there it contained 100 000 slaves so the evolution of slavery would have involved the destruction of productive capital estimated at 50 million dollars the large missouri plantations generally held hundreds of field and house slaves but the typical slave owner only owned up to four bondsmen more often than not though the missouri farmer worked side by side with his slaves nevertheless the opinion of much of the south and missouri was that owning slaves was a god-given right and tradition [Music] violence towards slaves was a constant threat and the idea of freedom for most slaves was a desperate dream in missouri many owners treated their slaves so humanely that they never ran away although they were sometimes punished others felt really grieved for it to be found out that one of their slaves ran away and others allowed their overseer to treat their slaves with such brutality that they were forced to run away strong pro-slavery man as i am i saw a sight as i rode out of independence missouri but opened up my eyes to the cruelty and barbarity of the institution a slave dealer rode by with his drove of negroes collected for the southern market one unfortunate creature broke loose running for life liberty he was nearly to the culvert when the master raised his firearm fired and the fugitive fell dead in his tracks it was a brutal deed done by a brute but the law sanctioned it northerners generally turned a blind eye to the southern lifestyle for since the country began the south had held the economic power due to agriculture but by the 1850s the balance of power was swinging northward with the manufacturing and mechanization boom of the industrial revolution the borders of our country were changing as well through manifest destiny and each time a fledgling territory requested statehood the two sections of the north and south would clash particularly over the expansion of slavery [Music] we had no thought of discussing the subject of slavery viewed in its social moral economic aspects it was regarded as solely and exclusively a matter of state jurisdiction and therefore one which did not concern the federal government or the states where it did not exist uneasy compromise was always reached in congress but the animosity between the free and slave states continued to grow especially when the number of free states were suddenly in the majority and when religious reform began spreading in the north crying for the absolute abolition of slavery the south found itself on the defensive for years missourians and islands had petitioned to open and settle the fertile territory to their west but failed then in 1853 illinois senator stephen douglas proposed a bill to open up the nebraska territory for a transcontinental railroad to maintain that dangerous delicate balance between the two sections he suggested dividing the territory into two calling the bill kansas nebraska inciting a firestorm in congress it essentially killed the missouri compromise and abolished the mason-dixon line by which the limits of slavery were restricted it substituted the principle of popular sovereignty which supposedly allowed the people who settled the state to decide whether slavery would abide there or not but abolitionists and their allies moved heaven and earth to accomplish its defeat of course we tried to defeat that cursed bill it was an outrage to consider annulling the sacred compact of the missouri compromise and allowing the spread of slavery once again using the radical theory of popular sovereignty the presumption was that settlers in the northern portion of the territory nebraska would oppose slavery while those in the southern half kansas would permit it naturally to the missouri way of thinking kansas would be settled by missourians just as our ancestors had come from kentucky and other slaveholding states and naturally our slaves would go with us as congress passionately debated kansas nebraska abolitionists like eli fair began to enlist immigrants to settle kansas and keep it free from slavery these immigration companies were also meant to make a profit for eastern investors the plan was no less than to found free cities and extemporize free states the contest took the form of the people against tyranny and slavery the whole crowd of slave drivers and traitors backed by a party organization a corrupt majority in congress administration with its officers armed with revolvers all together proving totally insufficient to cope with an aroused people congress narrowly passed the kansas nebraska bill and president franklin pierce signed it into law on may 30th 1854. with that stroke of a pen thousands packed their wagons and headed west with the nation watching the battle over slavery would soon be fought in the new territory of kansas [Music] do what was once considered the great american desert became paradise for the new arrivals missourians and other folks began to stay claims throughout the lust prairie and along the kaw river but they were by no means the first to come to this uncultivated land before 1854 the kansas territory as part of the louisiana purchase extended as far west as the rocky mountains as far south as new mexico and as far north as canada the region was occupied by several tribes of native americans christian missionaries soldiers at area forts and fur traders trading posts also served stage lines and freighting companies traveling to california and new mexico and some folks had long squatted in the territory with their slaves i wish to state a fact of which you may not be aware that slavery existed in the kansas territory long ago regardless of the exploded missouri compromise but then we were threatened with becoming the unwilling receptacle of all the filth and scum and off scouring of the east to pollute our fair land to preach abolitionism and to dig underground railroads this country that which the sun shines upon no fairer with mountains prairies and valleys lying midway between the north and south east and west is never to be cursed with the blackest of all villainies the bitterest of all evils human slavery the first group of new englanders arrived by steamboat in kansas city missouri on july 24 1854 after acquiring provisions these members of the immigrant aid societies continued by wagon along the california road towards their company towns in the territory with the territory thus wrongfully open to slavery the conflict was transferred from the halls of congress to the unsettled territories we determined to accept the new doctrine of popular sovereignty and its promises to settle these territories and the bolton free forever ultimately the new england immigrant aid company was directly responsible for fewer than 2 000 people coming to kansas but the propaganda fostered by the company generated a much larger influx of immigrants from other parts of the country [Music] most came simply to build a home and a new land for themselves and their children people have been downright nosy about our beliefs as we walked across missouri to kansas they seem to side with relief when they heard our southern accents but then they brazenly ask why we don't have our slaves with us [Music] we were just coming to kansas for the land not the cause others did come for the cause of slavery but to free american soil from all blacks i believe slavery a civil and moral evil i believe the mere holding of men as slaves for the purpose of gain is sinful leaving as i am a colonizationist and a free soiler i am in favor of sending free blacks and emancipated slaves with their own consent out of the country and of keeping slavery out of territories where it does not exist there were many good citizens settling among us from illinois indiana and ohio whose notions of slavery were parallel to our own we weren't contending against the honest but mistaken free soiler we were contending with the scum and filth of the northern cities sent here as hired servants to do the wills of others no man from the southern extremity of florida to the northern boundary of missouri has ever objected to an immigrant simply because he's from the north and preferred free labor to their slaves with the most to lose missourians felt the burden of securing the land for the pro-slavery factions particularly those who lived along the state line men raced across the border to create pro-slavery towns to protect themselves and their beliefs [Music] but while some missourians intended to remain on their claims many merely squatted on tracks of land to support the cause they notched trees or arranged half a dozen rails on the ground calling it a cabin or posted a scrawl claiming ownership and threatening to shoot trespassers on site the southerners then whether they had law and right on their side or not were determined to establish squatter sovereignty in kansas and to carry the vote for slavery northerners were determined that they should not succeed the government of washington controlled by southern democrats preserved a benevolent neutrality for the southerners cause and did not interfere until they were compelled to do so by the frightful state of anarchy which eventually prevailed anarchy did prevail pro-slavery men destroyed crops and stole horses and cattle from the new englanders many were warned to leave kansas or suffer the consequences but to the surprise of the missourians the new arrival stood their ground and for the first few months in the territory vigilante justice ruled in october five months after kansas nebraska was enacted territorial governor andrew reader finally arrived and settled into his offices at the shawnee mission one of his first duties was to set an election for the delegate to the u.s congress reader defined a voting resident as anyone who had an actual home on a claim but his policy on the length of residency was very vague [Music] on the day of the election both sides of the slavery issue brought out as many last-minute residents as they could muster and the missourians came in the thousands from as far away as little dixie to counter the new england invasion i was at the election at fort scott and at that time i lived in cass county missouri in a little town called west point we went out in the company of some 100 men the day before the election the voting was about ballot and there was no violence several men were pointed out to me as eastern immigrants who intended to vote and leave same as the missourians [Applause] [Music] and where is your claim sir my claim is over there just struck it an hour ago in order to make the pretense of right to vote some of the company kept a pretended register of squatter claims on which anyone could enter his name and assert he had a claim in the territory a citizen of douglas who was also a candidate for delegate to congress was told by one of the strangers that he would be abused and probably killed if he challenged a vote he was seized by the caller and was compelled to seek protection in the room of the judges the election of the delegate was the greatest outrage on the ballot box ever perpetrated on american soil some 1200 1400 missourians armed with buoy knives and revolvers took the poles more than 40 free soilers were unable to come to the polls at all many voters didn't deny or conceal their missouri residency and when the polls close they retreated to the comfort of their homes the pro-slavery forces overwhelmingly won the election moreover it soon became apparent that john w whitfield the pro-slavery candidate would have handily won the contest without the extra missouri support a congressional committee later looked into the election and called the fraudulent voting a crime of great magnitude the most shameless fraud was discovered at a precinct where only 20 people lived yet the total votes taken was 604. as winter settled in over the territory sons of the south celebrated their victory and many thought that the strife would soon be over there was not a single doubt kansas would become a slave state or the abolitionists either become initiated in our institutions or leave as fast as they arrive undaunted by the pro-slavery victory abolitionists thronged to the territory in the spring of 1855 they came in order to sway voters for another election this time to elect an anti-slavery legislature to govern the territory led by the massachusetts immigrant aid company recruiter charles robinson 169 new englanders arrived in lawrence just in time for the election suddenly the jovial mood of the missourians turned deadly serious when a set of fanatics and demagogues a thousand miles off could afford to advance their money and exert every nerve to abolitionize the territory and exclude the slaveholder what is your duty to those who have qualms of conscience as to violating laws state or national i say the time has come for such impositions to be disregarded as your rights and property are in danger when you live within one day's journey in the territory and i advise you one and all to enter every election district in kansas you can send 500 of your young men who will vote in favor of your institution and vote at the point of the bowie knife and the revolver i tell you to mark every scoundrel among you who is in the least tainted with free soil ism or abolitionism and exterminate him a few days before the 30th of march crowds of men might be seen wending their way to some general rendezvous in missouri they were rough brutal looking men of most non-descript appearance they had however one mark a white or blue ribbon to distinguish them from the true settlers this was wholly unnecessary no one ever mistaking these men as an intelligent educated settler in the territory given the nickname border ruffians by the abolitionist press men poured across the missouri river into kansas some parties went as far inland as pawnee nearly 120 miles into the territory to try to control the voting once again we traveled nearly all day among a large party of missourians well when we told them we was from the east yeah they gave us the pleasure of being called damn yankees they didn't succeed in frightening us none thing which i was most afraid of was that barrel of whiskey we found in the back of one of their wagons when the polls open the conditions for voting in most places were not come safe boy time to take what's rightfully ours thank you come on grab your weapons don't matter if it's not yours get up there boys we have a right to vote here even if we only been here five minutes we can't hear the voting but god we're not going until we're down [Applause] in topeka when we went to the polls the missourians had charged the grounds had driven off the judges of the election and taken the matter into their own hands we therefore did not vote at all in fort scott the voting was done almost altogether by missourians many of them before voting staked off a small plot of ground a few feet square and standing upon it called out i clean this spot of ground as my residence but the majority dispensed with even this formality the humor was lost on the new england immigrants whose moral outrage could not be contained clear this doorway when our citizens began to vote they passed between a double file of armed men with threats of shooting and hanging several citizens of lawrence were driven from the ground that day with threats of fatal violence when it became evident that the pro-slavery party had more than enough to carry a precedent they would move on to another even before the ballots recounted missouri knew they once again had their [Music] victory this invasion is the first and only one in the history of our government by which an organized force from one state has elected a legislature for another state or territory and as such it should be resisted by the whole executive power of the national government never since the world began had there been heard such a howl as was set up all over the north by the dogs of fanaticism to be sure missourian sent voters into kansas but the free state men did the same the only difference being they could not return to their homes on the night of the election the territorial census taken the previous november had counted a little over 2 900 eligible voters in the territory but over 6 000 votes were tallied for the march election the missourians had simply gone too far and the districts where most illegal and fraudulent voting occurred governor reader threw those votes out but to no effect when the territorial legislature met it seated the original pro-slavery victors who were then backed by president pierce's pro-slavery administration it was said that the kansas legislation was elected by fraud and didn't fairly represent the opinions of the people of the territory this was the excuse of the losing party but even the governor of kansas refuted this who certified that a large majority of the legislature were duly and legally elected a more stupendous fraud was never perpetrated since the invention of the ballot box the crew who will assemble under the title of the kansas territorial legislature by virtue of this outrage will be a body of men to whose acts no more respect will be due than a legislature chosen by a tribe of wandering arabs dubbed the bogus legislature by the anti-slavery settlers the kansas territorial government was about to make history [Music] the printing press at parkville was cast into the missouri river and the editors were ordered to leave the state and threaten with death if they return to kansas the ballot box was violated the press overthrown the church denounced while pro-slavery powers were making great advances with one vikrant crowded on the heels of another slavery excitement was too fierce with the pro-slavery legislature in power many people lost hope and returned to their homes in the east those who stayed felt the wrath of the legislators who made their temporary headquarters at the shawnee indian mission they quickly began creating laws blatantly hostile to the anti-slavery sentiment the legislature avoided the laborious formality of creating new laws by adopting the missouri code with the simple instruction to the clerks to substitute the name of kansas territory wherever the state of missouri occurred the kansas slave code was made stricter than that of missouri or of anywhere else in the southern states punishments range from two to five years of hard labor for possessing an abolitionist publication free state men were barred from holding office or exercising the right to free speech and death was prescribed for inducing slaves to revolt [Music] kansas had laws more efficient to protect slave property than any other state in the union now these laws silenced the abolitionists for in spite of their boasting they knew they would be enforced to the very letter and with the utmost rigor not only was it now profitable for slaveholders to go to kansas but politically it was all important regrettably for missourians southern support came only in a trickling of men and money the slave owners themselves did not want the costly expense to uproot a settled plantation and move into a turbulent environment with the potential of their slaves stolen i would say that as for the kansas coast it shall never in contrast fired up by abolitionist propaganda northern immigrants were storming kansas [Applause] it's a curious commentary on the doctrine of squatter sovereignty that when it was first applied in the territory here the people actually had less political power than in any civilized government on earth [Music] in 1855 president pierce removed andrew reader as governor replacing him with slavery sympathizer wilson shannon rita dropped his pretense of impartiality and joined the growing underground free state movement led by charles robinson people of kansas territory are today the subjects of a foreign state laws are now being imposed upon us by the citizens of missouri for the sole purpose of forcing upon us the institution of slavery i ask what are we subjects slaves of missouri [Applause] the free state movement was born in response to the acts of the bogus legislature the rebellious settlers banded together to create an opposing government determined to make kansas free from slavery let us repudiate all laws enacted by foreign legislative bodies i seem to hear the millions of bondsmen the patriots the spirits of the revolutionary heroes and the voice of god himself all saying to the people of kansas do your [Applause] duty under the banner of freedom what robinson proposed might have been construed as treason against the sanctioned territorial government but he found a willing audience by the fall the free state kansans outnumbered the legitimate pro-slavery settlers but even within their ranks slavery was a hot issue the majority disliked and resented being called abolitionists we were mostly western people some from slave states there was a prevailing sentiment against admitting negroes into the territory at all slave or free this sentiment was shared by newcomer james henry lane who had grand political aspirations for himself in kansas moderation i'm as anxious as any of you for kansas to enter the union as a free state committed to their course robinson lane and former governor andrew reeder toiled over the details of their extra-legal free state government and when elections were held charles robinson was chosen governor and jim lane and reader were elected senators the revolutionary government's first task was to create a constitution for statehood but the two dynamic free state leaders found themselves immediately at odds with each other over many issues not in the least of which was slavery ultimately the free staters agreed with lane and approved a constitution that forbade slavery in the territory and excluded free blacks as well the free state senator presented their topeka constitution to the u.s congress but the document and its rebel government were denied legitimacy the free state movement had experienced its first set back nationally but the fight was about to get personal as the lawful kansas legislature set up the territorial capital in lecompton 10 miles away in lawrence the free-staters began to bolster a military presence recognizing the gravity of their rebellion robinson requested help from boston new england responded sending 325 sharps carbine rifles a highly accurate virtual assault weapon of the 19th century reverend henry ward beecher and his congregation sent crates of these long-range weapons labeling them beecher's bibles to prevent missourians from seizing the shipments and transit on the missouri river those long-faced sanctimonious yankees who else would call sharp's rifles moral weapons to be used in place of the bible the free state movement now sought to do exactly what they had condemned the pro-slavery party for doing achieve its end by the threat of violence while most of the existing hostility was related to slavery it was a squabble over a land claim that began what is now known as the wakarusa war the homestead lines claimed by a kansas city man franklin coleman had been disputed by free stater jacob branson and several local squadrons including charles dow on a november morning as dow walked from the blacksmith shop he met coleman on the road the particulars of what happened are not known but dow's body was later found riddled with coleman's shotgun ammunition the free state cause had found its first martyr in charles dow two days after the killing of down there being no apparent effort to bring the guilty perpetrator to justice it had been decided that the proper thing to do was to have our own investigation set the matter right jacob branson took the lead [Music] branson and other free state men became a band of regulators and begin intimidating witnesses to the murder they even burned the house of coleman who had run back to kansas city newly commissioned sheriff samuel j jones had heard about the regulated threats acting on behalf of the territorial legislature jones rode with his posse to arrest branson all right boys word quickly spread to lawrence and the renegade free staters sprang into action i express the opinion we ought not let mr branson be arrested if he had been we should rescue him at all hazards and defiance of the bogus laws jones and his posse met up with the free state party outside abbott's home what's your prisoner you can't have this prisoner come on down here bran i won't give you this prisoner jones tried everything in the way of threats or compromises come on down here bro i'm telling you you'll get shot after about 15 or 20 minutes of parlay in which everyone expressed their opinions in somewhat impressive language jones started off with the threat that all of us should be arrested and punished even if it took a posse of 500 men to capture to answer this obstruction of justice governor wilson shannon called on the territorial militia to aid sheriff jones missouri irregular forces led by senator david atchison also volunteered to punish the free state men and their rebel town of lords as many as a thousand men from as far away as saint joseph booneville and lexington assembled along the wakarusa river as the missouri forces surrounded their heated foes and lards the free state government declared martial law to repel the oncoming attack supporters flocked to the town including old john brown my men are assembled it's time for an eye that's what i'm saying right there no right there gentlemen it's time to gentlemen please we must have courage yes yes we must have courage but with it we must have prudence these men have come from missouri to subjugate the free state men to also come to slit our throat to crush the free state movement yes but they will wait at least for a plausible excuse before commencing to shed blood this excuse must not be given them while the free state leaders debated their course the men of lawrence fortified the town free state guerrilla bands went on the offensive to terrorize their pro-slavery neighbors but pro-slavery bans were equally active throwing a blockade around lawrence and harassing unidentified riders one such rider thomas barbara along with his brother and brother-in-law were riding home from lawrence and found trouble along the way [Music] realizing that they had wounded a man the pro-slavery men fled the scene thomas barber would not survive the ride home [Music] as barber's lifeless body lay nearby in a room at the free state hotel governor shannon met with charles robinson to forge a peace treaty between the free staters and the territorial militia but those thirsting for blood and revenge in the wakarusa camp were not happy about the truce if you attacked warrants now you do so as a model and what would be the results and destroy the democratic party you cannot now destroy these people without losing more than you would gain just wait a little while we will fight sometime [Applause] the border army might still have launched an attack but a ferocious winter storm cooled both heels and heads long enough to cause all parties to withdraw thus ending the wakarusa war but the battle for kansas was only [Music] beginning [Music] a very excited and rather ominous state of affairs existed in that quarter part of our state ordered upon kansas certainly if kansas were made a free state war would ensue it could not be prevented how far the flames would reach no one could foretell as spring bloomed in the prairies so too did the animosity that had been held at bay over the bitterly cold winter those miserable missourians were getting together arms men and memes to make another desperate attempt to drive out the free state men the people here were quite well supplied with arms and determined to go forward and defend their rights even if it must be by bloodshed i never lay down without taking the precaution to fasten my door and fix it in such a way that if it was forced open that it would only open wide enough to allow one person to come in at a time i took this precaution to guard against the midnight attacks of those abolitionists who never made an attack in open daylight and no pro-slavery man you when he is safe in the territory immigration from the east was diamond on the missouri river with border reference patrolling steamboats and ports sending back anyone with an eastern accent however southern accents were welcome [Music] the southern immigrant was typically a young non-slave-holding male poor men they were often lured by money and the prospect of bettering their futures in the new territory but others came for the cause of slavery from plantations in south carolina alabama and georgia when they arrived in kansas they were immediately enrolled into the kansas territorial militia under the leadership of sheriff sam jones sheriff jones was one of the most zealous of the pro-slavery and had done everything in his power to harass and distress the free state people [Music] that march there were two legislatures running the territory one sanctioned by the pearce administration in lecompton and the other the free state legislature established itself in topeka as the rebel leaders took their oaths of office sheriff jones took down their names for prosecution governor robinson was his number one target and for good reason to bring the pro-slavery government to its knees you must resist any territorial officer trying to enforce the laws taxes are to be withheld judges harassed and intimidated open that door now to avoid a confrontation with the u.s government if you meet federal troops acting as posses for local officials they are to be simply evaded not resisted but robinson's plan for peaceful resistance was foiled when sheriff jones arrived in lawrence to serve warrants to the rebel leaders unsuccessful at his attempt he encamped overnight in order to nab his quarry the next day while in his tent jones was shot the bullet lodging in his backside jones in fact was not dead but the damage was done subpoenas were issued out of lecompton for all free state officials each decided to flee andrew reeder concealed first as a woman then as a hobo escaped to his home state of pennsylvania never to return charles robinson was captured on the steamboat in lexington while robinson and other free state leaders languished in the lecompton jail jim lane successfully scurried east gaining notoriety and momentum for his kansas cause [Applause] according to the kansas code written by the bogus legislature [Applause] if a person were to kidnap a white child the utmost penalty would be six months in jail the people of kansas will never obey these laws never never as for myself i'm going back to kansas where there's indictment pending against me for high treason with a rope about my neck i would say that as to the kansas code it shall never be enforced in addition to indicting the free state leaders the lecompton legislature also charged the entire town of lawrence as a stronghold of resistance to the territorial laws ordering that the free state hotel and the newspapers be destroyed the pro-slavery party now had the legal grounds to complete what was begun during the wakarusa war open season was now declared on free staters [Music] once again the territorial militia estimated at 500 to 700 men surrounded lawrence [Music] as the missourians prepared for their attack and the u.s senate senator charles sumner attacked the pro-slavery government of kansas and its supporters particularly senator andrew pickens butler of south carolina the senator from south carolina has read many books of chivalry and believes himself a chivalrous knight of course he has chosen a mistress with whom he has made vows i mean the harlot slavery sumner's incendiary words match the deeds of the missourians who finally took their revenge on the free state foes uh the border ruffians robbed pillaged and looted until dark many drunk and reeling finally stumbled from the town their route lit from the flames from the home of charles and sarah robinson only one man was killed that night a southerner struck dead by a stone falling from the hotel the day after lawrence was sacked revenge was sought in washington dc against senator sumner of all who were shocked and incensed by sumner's speech none took the words more personally than butler's nephew congressman preston brooks who retaliated by attacking sumner at his desk on the senate floor beating him to unconsciousness anti-slavery supporters suddenly felt hopeless so the slave power sent its tools ragged ignorant debauched semi-savages to destroy a quiet town to steal destroy and outrage its inhabitants kansas had reached its turning point if the north didn't arouse and do more than she had done kansas would be a slave state and we would be wiped out unknowingly the border ruffians awoke not the north but a snake waiting to strike kansas was about to earn her nickname [Music] something must be done to show these barbarians that we too have rights i have no choice it has been ordained by the almighty god that i should make an example of these men [Music] john brown a 56 year old abolitionist from new york had come to kansas with his family in 1855 he had not come to settle the territory but to fight against the evils of slavery old john brown was one of those christians who had not quite vanished from the face of the earth that is he asked for god's blessing when he broke bread and even in camp he did not forget his devotions in his zeal against the border ruffians he and his boys were enlisted in the free state military company when they heard the news out of lawrence and then when old john brown heard about sumner's beaten he went crazy [Music] crazy so he five of his sons henry thompson and two neighbors decided to seek out and send a message to the pro-slavery residents of pottawatomie creek in such a manner as john brown said to cause restraining fear three nights after lawrence was sacked the men buckled on broadswords tucked in pistols and quietly followed brown the first occupied cabin they came to was james doyle's a pro-slavery man from tennessee who had come to kansas simply to work his claim and mind his own business about 11 o'clock at night after we had all retired we heard some persons come into the yard and rap at the door and call for my husband they're down the road oh god jesus take all the man now they told my husband that he and the boys were their prisoners they first took my husband out of the house then took two of my sons the oldest ones william and drury out and took them away my son john was spared because i asked them in tears to spare me [Music] fear for myself and the remaining children induced me to leave and go to the state of missouri alan wilkinson and william sherman known to be pro-slavery men were also taken from their homes and given the same brutal treatment as the doyle's in the morning news of the atrocity raced across the pottawatomie and sent chills throughout the nation some pro-slavery men took the alarm and fled not a few free soilers fearing retaliation left as well within a month of potawatomi outrages were so common that it would be impossible to enumerate for almost a year the free state movement had successfully threatened revolution in defense of their rights without actually coming to blows but brown's act of terrorism ignited guerilla warfare between free-state guerrillas and missouri border ruffians homes were plundered horses stolen cattle butchered no one was free from violence i had slaves and i had crops of corn and wheat growing had never taken an active part in the pro-slavery party these men free staters they said that i had to be off my land within a day or two or they was going to kill me they said the war was commenced and they was going to fight it out and they was going to drive every pro-slavery person out of territory i left for the fear of my life and the lives of my family the true skirmishes between pro and anti-slavery forces began in june at the battle of blackjack where john brown and his men fought and beat the border ruffians after countless pleas from the compton federal troops out of fort leavenworth were unleashed to squats to territorial violence led by colonel edwin sumner the troops spent the summer chasing down aggressors from both sides attempting to resolve the issues with diplomacy but with a limited group of men he could not be everywhere border ruffians led by future confederate general joe shelby cut a deadly swap through pottawatomie creek to sack john brown's hometown of osawatomie the guerrilla war was three cornered with free state men on one side pro-slavery men on the other and uncle sam's man pretending to keep the peace not able to do it the free state forces were also strengthened when jim lane and his legendary army of the north joined up in john brown's militia they successfully evaded u.s troops and attacked pro-slavery strongholds around lawrence while most of these so-called forts were in fact fortified block houses for pro-slavery fighters many of the structures housed women and children the dissension in kansas became too much for governor shannon who resigned his post the pro-slavery acting governor daniel woodson declared the territory in a state of rebellion and called upon citizens to defend the law once again missourians under ex-missouri senator david rice atchison answered the call heading towards lawrence atchison and missouri legislator john reed moved their forces past osawatomie in search of john brown in the process killing three men including frederick brown john brown's son at his camp east of town john brown heard the news and hid out with his men along meredith creek prepared to fight long columns of pro-slavery men that site was truly appalling they were all slowly advancing in two long lines all mounted two brass cannons in the center they're guns and swords limbering in the morning soon although brown's group held the invaders for over an hour his militia was routed while the free state is scattered reed's militia moved on to osawatomie where with the exception of three homes sheltered women and children every building was set ablaze but free state militia were also on the move capturing pro-slavery towns casting their citizens to the wind meanwhile atchison and his missouri troops once again surrounded lawrence fortunately for the free staters the third governor of kansas john gary had arrived a war hero from the mexican-american war and mayor of san francisco while under spanish rule his first task was to halt the escalating violence there in battle array arranged at least 3 000 armed and desperate men in the background stood at least 300 army tents and as many wagons while here and there a cannon was planted ready to aid in the anticipated destruction among the banners floated black flags indicating no quarter as i passed along the lines murmurs of discontent and savage threats of assassination fell upon my ears in the missouri camp gary appealed to atchison for the hostilities to seize and threaten the use of the federal army against his forces the missouri leader reluctantly gave in and agreed to return home in addition to disbanding the volunteer missouri militia gary released charles robinson and the other free state leaders on bail the pro-slavery men were doubtless the original aggressors but their unworthy example was too eagerly followed by many proclaiming to be the advocates of freedom even though truce was called jim lane's army remained in the field a few more weeks attempting to keep up the free state momentum but ultimately he and his men retreated to nebraska driven out by governor geary's policies john brown also left the territory to raise funds back east to continue his crusade war weary the kansas settlers look forward to the coming of winter as a respite from the violence and to return to their unplanted and unharvested crops in the spring the cost of war was considerable from the winter of 1855 to the winter of 1856 violence in the territory had destroyed an estimated 2 million dollars in property and taken 38 souls but the scars of the war left impressions on old and young war's a terrible thing i before heard of it and i've now seen it i've heard the balls whistling about my ears i've stood where men have been shot down as you would shoot down wild beasts i've heard the groaning of the wounded and dying and i've seen the dead corpses truly war is a terribly cruel thing [Music] [Music] i figured the north was planting another invasion of kansas to follow in spring and at the same time i heard nothing being done by the south those who'd come had mostly gone back and i heard of no others coming for my part though i was going to try to weather the storm and if we failed i would be found at my post my consolation was i was doing all i could for the south and our cause too many astute southerners it was all too apparent the summer of 1856 had not gone as the pro-slavery party of kansas had hoped their only bright spot was the election of james buchanan the democratic president who many thought would protect southern rights he had beaten john fremont from the budding republican party who had run on the platform of a free state kansas the pro-slavery party also found victory in the supreme court decision over missouri slave dred scott the ruling strengthened the position of the pro-slavery men who had long believed slave owning to be a fundamental right not subject to legislative restrictions bolstered by the national successes the kansas territorial legislature in the compton turned their focus towards statehood and the creation of a state constitution that would uphold slavery the legislators intended to pass the constitution without a vote from the kansas settlers governor geary protested this action but with the support from the buchanan administration the bogus legislature moved forward on march 10 1857 after only six months in the territory john geary frustrated disgusted and fearing for his life slipped out of kansas never to return i've learned more about the depravity of my fellow men than i ever before knew i thought my california experience was strong but i believe my kansas experience cannot be beaten in instead buchanan appointed robert j walker as the fourth governor of the kansas territory in spite of this the kansas question was still up for grabs and both sides began preparing for the fall election of a new territorial legislature but the enthusiasm from the pro-slavery settlers was waning on the other hand free state settlers were urged to elect their representatives to office the slavery question in kansas is not so unsolvable it is reduced to the simple issue of slave or free state and must be decided by a full and fair vote of the majority of the people of kansas the same question has thus been decided peacefully in every other state and why not in kansas the day of the election passed peacefully and the free state party easily won their slate flagrant ballot box stuffing had occurred near the missouri border and a considerable number of illegal votes from iowa and nebraska had also been cast but to his credit governor walker threw the fraudulent counts out the free state party was finally in control of the territory but the la compton legislature was not sitting idly by instead they sped up efforts to pass the pro-slavery constitution without the support of the kansas voters the free staters boycotted the pro-slavery election and the la compton constitution with slavery was adopted but the free staters set their own election and this time the pro-slavers abstained and the compton was rejected in spite of the overwhelming denial by territorial residents president james buchanan sent the lecompton constitution to congress anyway urging its adoption and denouncing the free staters for their illegal government in the southern democratically led senate the lecompton constitution easily passed but the bill was blocked in congress southerners made failed threats of secession if kansas was rejected then self-respect would compel the southern members of congress and especially the members of georgia to vacate their seats anyone who did not yield a quiet ascent to border ruffianism was denounced a traitor but those on the other side of the chamber sought to steal the liberties of a whole people and hide behind the technicalities of what they call law the heated debate caused congress to turn once more to compromise what would be the final compromise before the union disintegrated in 1861. the compromise which some called a bribe sent the lecompton constitution back to kansas for a re-vote should the document be rejected kansans would lose statehood and a land grant of 23 million acres the threat was futile for when the compton was resubmitted to kansas voters the free staters were willing to put off statehood in order to reject the pro-slavery document kansas would remain a territory and the national debate over slavery was left to fight another day [Music] so kansas governor walker resigned with the 1858 submission of the lecompton constitution in its place was governor james denver who along with the free state legislature began applying for statehood under the anti-slavery constitution the tide of immigration into kansas became a flood it looked as if peace had finally settled in the area well sure in the north kansas ceased to bleed the farmers were finally attending to their homesteads and their crops but the bleed in the kansas flowed south into the southeastern border counties was the dreaded jayhawkers the fighting that continued in lynn bourbon and miami counties and kansas had become increasingly radicalized extremists like john brown were convinced of the moral rightness of violence to overthrow slavery but for many others experiences in kansas created the fanatical activists called jayhawkers or red legs who now fought not only for the freedom of the black man but for the undermined liberty of whites one of the most notorious jayhawkers was james montgomery an ohio native who had come to kansas in 1855 his zeal for jayhawking began in 1856 when his family was burned out of their lynn county home by border ruffians he had once made it his business to remove all pro-slavery folks from southern kansas as well as making forays into missouri to reap revenge families were flying panic stricken from their homes men were hiding in the woods to elude the vengeance of montgomery and his desperados both candace militia and federal authorities made several attempts to suppress the jayhawkers but the hostilities between the jayhawkers and the border ruffians could not be quenched while some missourians built up defenses on the state border others planned retaliation charles a hamilton from georgia was a veteran of the guerrilla fighting and had been ordered out of kansas by free state men in may of 1858 hamilton began a war of extermination against the free staters he passed into kansas with a band of 25 men and headed up to choteau's trading post along the military road he gathered 11 free state men and marched them into a deep narrow ravine there he ordered them to form a line hamilton gave the command of face front he then ordered his own men to form a line and to present arms in front of us horse's feet being nearly as high as our heads about 10 feet from us someone said ben don't obey that order captain hamilton gave the order again right out that line right there when i say fire you fired [Music] he gave it a third time swearing terribly [Music] they then dismounted to finish us off and search our pockets miraculously six of us 11 men survived news of the slaughter sent new waves of shock throughout the u.s and as usual in kansas the vigilante killers went unpunished once again many claims were deserted and families gathered together for protection in response to the massacre montgomery and his men stepped up their removal of the pro-slavery element the legend of the jayhawkers would grow throughout the rest of the decade and into the civil war john brown had founded montgomery an ally for his anti-slavery cause but while montgomery attacked pro-slavery strongholds like fort scott brown began liberating slaves from missouri after one final raid into vernon county in december 1858 where he took 11 slaves and killed a man brown escaped to the east where he planned a negro revolt in october 1859 at harpers ferry virginia john brown attempted a slave insurrection but failed instead he found himself a martyr for the abolition of slavery and on december 2nd was hung for treason against the commonwealth of virginia the troubles in kansas were no longer isolated to the plains the harpers ferry raid further estranged the south from the union and that threats of secession were no longer idle the fate of the south was sealed when in november 1860 abraham lincoln was elected president on the republican party platform of no slavery extension one by one the southern states began to leave the union [Music] ironically it was the secession of the south that allowed kansas to finally become a state when another constitution for statehood was brought up in january 1861 the majority in both u.s houses swung in favor of a free kansas and on january 29th the bill was signed into law admitting the 34th state into the union as a free state the admission of kansas marked the end of the first battle for freedom this nation will never be able to pay the kansas pioneers who stood in the breach and fought this first battle sadly the celebration of statehood was short-lived three months later the u.s would begin the bloodiest war in our history so the old missouri and kansas animosities in spite standard in 55 and 56 smoldered on each side of the border and when the wall came the long bar opportunity came and both sides seized it and soon ripened into personal revenge and general disregard for personal riots and property within two years the beautiful border became a wasteland of lonesome chimneys standing as monuments of the past the frontier border conflict was born out of a simple struggle for statehood that began in 1854 and lasted six bloody years but the war on slavery finally began to play out in the east and during the next four years nearly 628 000 souls were sacrificed for the emancipation of millions of black americans but while most of america focused on the eastern conflict here on the western border where slavery was no longer an issue the personal terror the sheer brutality and the outrageous injustices across the state lines would continue between the kansas jayhawkers and the missouri bushwackers the legends and atrocities of that time are for another story to tell but the repercussions of that history the bad blood between kansas and missouri has been handed down over generations until the memories and causes are blurred and the only thing we're left with is the hatred of the other [Music] do [Music] oh brother green please come to me for i am short and bleeding dear brother stay and put me away and write my love unless tell her i know she's prayed for me and now her prayers are answered that i might be prepared to die if i should fall in battle [Music] once he called me brother and now to heaven i will fly to meet my [Music] there's really little difference between the boy from georgia and the boy from indiana accepted one raised cotton the other race hey together two just raised hell go tell my love go kiss my little sisters for they will call their brother [Music] there are [Music] with [Music] and carries me [Music] oh could i once more see her that i might give sweet farewell [Music] again the production of bad blood was made possible through the generous support of the fred and lou hartwig foundation additional support was provided by the missouri division of tourism the kansas division of travel and tourism and the kansas state historical society you

Channel: Wide Awake Films

Views: 396,955

Keywords: civil war movie, Missouri, Kansas, Border War, American Civil War, US History, Civil War, Missouri-Kansas, Bushwacker, Bushwacking, Lawrence, John Brown

Id: L9vkExI1y3Y

Length: 87min 36sec (5256 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 02 2021