Editing Kansas (section)

=== 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".