Editing Kansas (section)

==History==

{{Main|History of Kansas}}
{{stack|float=right|margin=true|[[File:War dance in the interiour of a Konza lodge.jpg|thumb|Samuel Seymour's 1819 illustration of a [[Kaw people|Kansa]] lodge and dance is the oldest drawing known to have been done in Kansas.]]}}

Before [[European colonization of the Americas|European colonization]], Kansas was occupied by the [[Caddoan]] [[Wichita people|Wichita]] and later the [[Siouan]] [[Kaw people]]. Tribes in the eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the western part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of [[bison]]. The first European to set foot in present-day Kansas was the Spanish [[conquistador]] [[Francisco Vázquez de Coronado]], who explored the area in 1541.

Between 1763 and 1803, the territory of Kansas was integrated into [[Spanish Louisiana]]. During that period, Governor [[Luis de Unzaga]] 'le Conciliateur' promoted expeditions and good relations with the [[Amerindians]]. Explorer [[Antoine de Marigny]] and others continued trading across the [[Kansas River]], especially at its confluence with the [[Missouri River]], tributaries of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref>Cazorla, Frank, G. Baena, Rosa, Polo, David, Reder Gadow, Marion (2019) Luis de Unzaga (1717–1793) Pioneer in the birth of the United States and in the liberalism. Foundation Malaga</ref>

In 1803, most of modern Kansas was [[United States territorial acquisitions|acquired by the United States]] as part of the [[Louisiana Purchase]]. Southwest Kansas, however, was still a part of Spain, Mexico, and the [[Republic of Texas]] until the conclusion of the [[Mexican–American War]] in 1848, when these lands were [[Mexican Cession|ceded to the United States]]. From 1812 to 1821, Kansas was part of the [[Missouri Territory]]. The [[Santa Fe Trail]] traversed Kansas from 1821 to 1880, transporting manufactured goods from [[Missouri]] and silver and furs from [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]]. [[Santa Fe Trail Remains|Wagon ruts from the trail]] are still visible in the prairie today.

In 1827, [[Fort Leavenworth]] became the first permanent settlement of white Americans in the future state.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a211662.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412030430/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a211662.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=April 12, 2019|title=A Brief History of Fort Leavenworth|author=Partin, John W. Partin|year=1983|access-date=January 24, 2019}}</ref> The [[Kansas–Nebraska Act]] became law on May 30, 1854, establishing [[Nebraska Territory]] and [[Kansas Territory]], and opening the area to broader settlement by whites. [[Kansas Territory]] stretched all the way to the Continental Divide and included the sites of present-day [[Denver]], [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]], and [[Pueblo, Colorado|Pueblo]].
{{stack|float=right|margin=true|[[File:Battle of Lawrence.png|thumb|[[Lawrence Massacre|Quantrill's Raid]] on [[Lawrence, Kansas|Lawrence]]]]}}

=== Bleeding Kansas and the Civil War ===
The first non-military settlement of Euro-Americans in Kansas Territory consisted of [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionists]] from [[Massachusetts]] and other [[Free-Stater (Kansas)|Free-Staters]] who founded the town of Lawrence and attempted to stop the spread of slavery from neighboring Missouri.

Missouri and [[Arkansas]] continually sent settlers into Kansas Territory along its eastern border to sway votes in favor of slavery prior to Kansas statehood elections. Directly presaging the [[American Civil War]] these forces collided, entering into skirmishes and guerrilla conflicts that earned the territory the nickname [[Bleeding Kansas]]. These included [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]]'s [[Pottawatomie massacre]] of 1856.

Kansas was [[Admission to the Union|admitted to the Union]] as a free state on January 29, 1861, making it the 34th state to join the United States. By that time, the violence in Kansas had largely subsided, but during the Civil War, on August 21, 1863, [[William Quantrill]] led several hundred of his supporters on a raid into [[Lawrence, Kansas|Lawrence]], destroying much of the city and killing nearly 200 people. He was roundly condemned by both the conventional [[Confederate States Army|Confederate military]] and the partisan rangers commissioned by the [[Missouri legislature]]. His application to that body for a commission was flatly rejected due to his pre-war criminal record.<ref>Jones, ''Gray Ghosts and Rebel Riders'' Holt & Co. 1956, p. 76</ref>

=== Settlement and the Wild West ===
Passage of the [[Homestead Acts]] in 1862 accelerated settlement and agricultural development in the state. After the Civil War, many veterans constructed homesteads in Kansas. Many African Americans also looked to Kansas as the land of "[[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]]" and, led by [[freedmen]] like [[Benjamin "Pap" Singleton]], began establishing black colonies in the state. Leaving southern states in the late 1870s because of increasing discrimination, they became known as [[Exodusters]].

At the same time, the [[Chisholm Trail]] was opened and the [[American Old West|Wild West]] era commenced in Kansas. Storied lawman [[Wild Bill Hickok]] was a deputy marshal at [[Fort Riley]] and a marshal at [[Hays, Kansas|Hays]] and [[Abilene, Kansas|Abilene]]. [[Dodge City, Kansas|Dodge City]] was home to both [[Bat Masterson]] and [[Wyatt Earp]], who worked as lawmen in the town. The [[Dalton Gang]] robbed trains and banks throughout Kansas and the Southwest and maintained a hideout in [[Meade, Kansas|Meade]]. In one year alone,{{Which|date=January 2024}} eight million{{Citation needed|date=January 2025|reason=Eight million in a single year seems high; most sources on this mention cite a figure of 500,000-1,000,000 per year}} head of cattle from Texas boarded trains in Dodge City bound for the East, earning Dodge the nickname "Queen of the Cowtowns".

=== 20th century ===
In response to demands of [[Methodists]] and other [[evangelical Protestants]], in 1881 Kansas became the first U.S. state to adopt a constitutional amendment [[Prohibition|prohibiting]] all [[Alcohol laws of Kansas|alcoholic beverages]], which was repealed in 1948. Anti-saloon activist [[Carrie Nation]] vandalized her first saloon in [[Kiowa, Kansas|Kiowa]] in 1900. In 1922, suffragist [[Ella Uphay Mowry]] became the first female gubernatorial candidate in the state when she ran as "Mrs. W.D. Mowry". She later stated: "Someone had to be the pioneer. I firmly believe that some day a woman will sit in the governor's chair in Kansas."<ref>"[https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p16007coll36/id/28707/ Less of Oratory and More Work Novel Platform] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190723/https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p16007coll36/id/28707/ |date=July 9, 2021 }}." Alliance, Ohio: ''The Alliance Review and Leader'', April 21, 1922.</ref><ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4581045/mrs-w-d-mowry-dies-aug-2-1923/ Mrs. W.D. Mowry Dies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709191028/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4581045/mrs-w-d-mowry-dies-aug-2-1923/ |date=July 9, 2021 }}." Emporia, Kansas: ''The Emporia Gazette'', August 2, 1923, p. 5.</ref><ref>"[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4581070/mrs-w-d-mowry-dies-denver-topeka/ Pioneer Woman Candidate for Governor Dies: Mrs. W.D. Mowry on Republican Ticket in Primary Last Year] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190030/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/4581070/mrs-w-d-mowry-dies-denver-topeka/ |date=July 9, 2021 }}." Concordia, Kansas: ''Concordia Blade-Empire'', August 2, 1923, front page.</ref>

Kansas suffered severe environmental damage in the 1930s due to the combined effects of the [[Great Depression]] and the [[Dust Bowl]], and large numbers of people left southwestern Kansas in particular for better opportunities elsewhere.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Dust Bowl {{!}} Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945 {{!}} U.S. History Primary Source Timeline {{!}} Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress {{!}} Library of Congress |url=https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/great-depression-and-world-war-ii-1929-1945/dust-bowl/ |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA |archive-date=October 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013115514/https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/great-depression-and-world-war-ii-1929-1945/dust-bowl/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The outbreak of [[World War II]] spurred rapid growth in aircraft manufacturing near Wichita in the so-called [[Battle of Kansas]], and the aerospace sector remains a significant portion of the Kansan economy to this day.