Editing Kansas (section)

=== 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>