When and where did the Civil War begin? Was it when Abraham Lincoln was elected president? When Fort Sumter was fired on by the Confederacy? A good case can be made that the political event that precipitated the Civil War took place in a rural Kansas town that would become the centerpoint of national debate. Kansas became a territory in 1854. Under the Kansas-Nebraska Act, voters of each state were to determine if slavery would be allowed in that state or not. This led to “Bleeding Kansas” because of the conflict and violence that ensued. For example, Lawrence was sacked by a pro-slavery mob and John Brown led a retaliatory massacre. In order to influence the vote for their respective viewpoints, free staters came to Kansas territory from New England and pro-slavery border ruffians came from Missouri. In a rigged election, the pro-slavery faction won. Free state forces rallied. The Kansas election was found to have been fraudulent. Free staters prevailed in new elections. Eventually, Topeka was designated as the capitol. When and where did the Civil War begin? One can make the case that the adoption of the state constitution in Lecompton, Kansas set in motion the events that would lead to the Civil War. That is why Lecompton can claim to be the “Civil War birthplace” and the place “where slavery began to die.”
Read more: KCLY Radio
