Date of Award

7-1941

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

History

Abstract

Border troubles got a late start in the southeastern section of Kansas Territory. The free-state cause had attained a slight supremacy in the territory by the time these troubles were well developed in Bourbon and Linn Counties. This loss of the territorial government perhaps made pro-slavery partisans more bitter and less reasonable than they should have been. Some of the worst elements of the earlier struggle in the north drifted into this section. Examples of these can be given in George W. Clark and John Brown. Others who lacked a proper respect for life and property plus a distinct desire for someone else's property came and found plenty of opportunities for their kind of activities. This was a section of the frontier of that time. It was typical of such a region in its lack of respect for law and authority. The issue of pro-slavery vs. free-stateism offered good moral support for those looking for an excuse for illegal acts. Also it gave fanatics a feeling of divinity in their bloody work. Again John Brown is an example, and James Montgomery may be another.

Comments

iii, 116 leaves: maps; 28 cm. Bibliography: leaves 96-100.

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