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Kan·sas2 (kăn'zəs)  (Abbr. KS
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A state of the central United States. It was admitted as the 34th state in 1861. Organized as a territory by the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, it became a virtual battleground, known as Bleeding Kansas, for free and slave factions (1854–1859). Kansas was finally admitted as a free state. Topeka is the capital and Wichita the largest city. Population: 2,760,000.
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The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states of the United States is in Kansas, one mile north of the city of Lebanon. The geodetic center (which takes into account the curvature of the earth) of North America is in Osborne County in north-central Kansas. The state is rectangular, approximately 408 miles east to west, and 206 miles north to south. Kansas is bordered to the east by Missouri, to the south by Oklahoma, to the west by Colorado, and to the north by Nebraska. Because of its geographic center and because of its agricultural prominence, Kansas is often referred to as "the heartland of America."
The state is customarily divided into four different geologic regions. The northeastern part of Kansas is the Dissected Till Plains, so-called because the retreating glaciers of the last ice age left the land looking as though it had been divided and plowed. It has forests and an abundance of water. The southeastern part of Kansas, known as the Southeastern Plains, is marked by limestone hills, the Osage Plains, and grass. To the west of these two regions is the Plains Border, so called because its western edge borders the eastern edge of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. This region is plagued by severe droughts and tornadoes. Also prone to drought are the High Plains, which occupy the western part of Kansas and rise westward up into the Rockies. It is a dry area whose people rely on an underground aquifer for irrigation of their crops.
The most historically important of Kansas's rivers are the Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and Cimarron. The Missouri River forms part of the northeastern border and has been important for shipping. The Kansas River begins in north central Kansas at the confluence of the Republican and Smoky Hill Rivers and flows eastward to the Missouri. It formed a natural boundary between the Native American tribes, in the northeast, and the rest of the state. The Arkansas River enters Kansas a third of the way north on Kansas's western border, meanders east, then northeast, then crosses the border into Oklahoma. The Santa Fe Trail, used by hundreds of thousands of migrants and traders, followed the Kansas River, then turned southwest to the Arkansas River and followed it to the west. Some people chose a quicker but more hazardous route by crossing south over the Arkansas River and heading southwest to cross the Cimarron River, which originates in the High Plains and flows southeastward to Oklahoma.
Prehistory
It is not known when humans first arrived in what is now Kansas. Archaeologists and paleoanthropologists have continued to push backward in time the era when the first people arrived in North America, probably more than 100,000 years ago. During the last ice age, a glacier extended southward into northeastern Kansas and would have obliterated evidence of habitation earlier than 11,000 B.C.
There is much evidence of humans south of the glacier in 11,000 B.C., including long sharpened stone points for spears. These Paleo-Indians, a term meaning people who predate the Native American cultures that existed after 7000 B.C., were nomads who hunted mammoths and giant bison, as well as other big game. By 7000 B.C., the glacier had retreated far to the north, leaving the gouged landscape of the Dissected Till Plains; as the climate of Kansas warmed, new cultures were introduced. The archaic Indians of 7000 B.C. were not the wanderers their predecessors had been. With the extermination of large game, they became focused on small animals and on plants as sources for food. During the period between 5000 B.C. and 3500 B.C., people formed small settlements, and they often hunted with atlatls, slotted spear throwers that added greater power than was possible when throwing a spear by hand alone. These people also developed techniques for making ceramics.
By A.D. 1, the people in Kansas lived off of the wildlife of Kansas's forest. They still used stone tools, but they were making great strides in their pottery making. During this era, bows and arrows began to supplant spears and atlatls, with spear points becoming smaller and sharper. Maize, first grown in Mexico and Central America, appeared in Kansas, perhaps between A.D. 800 and 1000, probably coming from an ancient trade route that extended southwestward into what is now Mexico. Settlements became larger, and in eastern Kansas large burial mounds were built, suggesting evolution of complex societies.
After A.D. 1000, Native Americans in Kansas grew not only maize, but squash and beans as well. They used the bow and arrow to hunt bison and small game. The
Native Americans of northern Kansas and southern Nebraska lived in large communal lodges built of sod. Those to the south made thatched-roofed, plaster-covered houses. These people likely traded with the Pueblo Indians to the southwest, and at least one habitation within what is now Kansas was built by the Pueblo.
By the time of the arrival of the first European explorers in 1541, the settled cultures probably had already been driven out by numerous invasions of warlike nomadic cultures such as the Apache. The Pawnees inhabited northwestern Kansas, the Kiowas the high western plains, the Comanches the central part of Kansas, and the Wichita the southern plains. The Kansas, "the people of the south wind," for whom the state is named, and the Osages had yet to migrate into eastern Kansas; they would arrive in the 1650s. There were frequent wars among these tribes, and they often fought the nomadic Apaches, who tended to follow the herds of bison.
Exploration
The first recorded European explorer of the Kansas region was Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and his followers, who were looking for riches. In Kansas, he found a land rich in farms and diverse Native American cultures. Some of the tribes he encountered resented Roman Catholic priests for trying to convert them, and one priest was killed. Pieces of Spanish chain mail have been uncovered in central Kansas, indicating that a few Spanish soldiers also may have died there.
France claimed the region of Kansas in 1682, but it was not until 1724 that explorers from Europe and European American colonies began coming to Kansas on a regular basis. The first was Étienne Veniard de Bourgmont, who traveled through Kansas as a trader, while exploring the land for the French government. In 1739, Paul and Pierre Mallet led several traders through Kansas to the southwest, blazing a trail for other traders. The French built Fort Cavagnial, near what would become Leavenworth, to aid French travelers and to provide a meeting place for Native Americans and French traders; the fort was closed in 1764. In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana territory, which included Kansas, from France.
Kansas was still a frontier when the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through it in 1804. In 1806, Zebulon M. Pike led an expedition through Kansas, helping to blaze trails from east to west that Americans would follow. In 1819, Major Stephen H. Long explored part of Kansas and the Great Plains, calling the region the Great American Desert, probably because of a drought and the seemingly endless dry, brown grass. Perhaps he missed or dismissed the large forest that still covered much of Kansas.
Early Settlements
Irrigation had been introduced to Kansas along Beaver Creek in western Kansas in 1650 by the Taos Indians, setting the stage for year-round settlements in the dry High Plains. The explorer William Becknell established the Santa Fe Trail in 1821, beginning the busy travel of traders through Kansas to the American southwest. In 1827, Fort Leavenworth was established by Colonel Henry Leavenworth to provide a place for settling disputes among the Native American tribal factions. That same year, Daniel Morgan Boone, son of Daniel Boone, became the first American farmer in Kansas. In 1839, Native Americans imported wheat from the east and became the first wheat farmers in Kansas, clearing and farming plots of land along rivers. Treaties with the American government supposedly protected the Native American farmers in what was called "Indian Country." In 1852, the Native American Mathias Splitlog established Kansas's first flour mill just west of the Missouri River in what is now Wyandotte County.
Bleeding Kansas
In 1854, in the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the U.S. Congress established Kansas as an official territory, but in so doing, Congress violated a compromise between slave states and free states that was supposed to make both Kansas and Nebraska free states. Instead, Congress said that the people of Kansas and Nebraska would vote on whether to make the territories free or slave states when they applied for statehood.
In 1855, Kansas tried to elect a legislature that would write a state constitution to present to Congress as part of its application for statehood. Most of the settlers in Kansas, such as Mennonites and Quakers, were antislavery (known as "free staters"), but proslavery men from outside Kansas were imported to vote in the election, and through intimidation of antislavery voters and ballot-box stuffing, they "won" the election. The new legislature quickly wrote a proslavery constitution, which Congress rejected because the state legislature was not recognized as legitimate. In 1855, the Topeka Movement favoring a free state was begun, and its followers wrote their own state constitution; this, too, was rejected by Congress because the authors had not been properly elected.
By 1856, proslavery terrorists were killing free-state farmers. On 21 August 1856, an out-of-state proslavery gang invaded Lawrence, Kansas, an overwhelmingly free-state community, and murdered over 150 people and burned down most of the town. The antislavery fanatic John Brown gathered some of his followers and invaded farms along Pottawatomie Creek, south of Kansas City, Kansas, murdering five proslavery men; this became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre. A proslavery militia later attacked John Brown and some of his followers, only to be captured by those they tried to kill. This made John Brown a hero among many antislavery people. These events inspired the nickname "Bleeding Kansas," and the violence and murders continued even after the conclusion of the Civil War (1861–1865).
Statehood
Beginning in 1860 and lasting until telegraph lines were established between America's West and East, the Pony Express passed through Kansas. By 1861, Kansas had managed to have an election that Congress recognized as valid, and the resulting territorial legislature wrote a state constitution forbidding slavery that Congress also recognized as valid. On 29 January 1861, Kansas was admitted as the thirty-fourth state in the Union, although a large chunk of its western territory was ceded to what eventually would become the state of Colorado. Topeka was declared the state capital. On 12 April 1861, the Civil War began, pitting proslavery Southern states, the Confederacy, against the rest of the country, the Union.
Over 20,000 Kansans, out of only 30,000 eligible men, enlisted in the Union army; at the war's end, 8,500 (28.33 percent) of the Kansas soldiers had been killed, the highest mortality rate of any Union state. The first skirmishes against Confederate regulars occurred in 1861 along the Missouri River, with the first significant combat for Kansan troops occurring near Springfield, Missouri, in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, with the First Kansas Volunteer Infantry suffering heavy losses. Kansan historians claim that the first African Americans to see significant combat in the Civil War were the First Kansas Colored Infantry, who were formed into a regiment in August 1862, and who fought Confederate troops at Butler, Missouri, on 29 October 1862 in the Battle of Toothman's Mound. Under Colonel James M. Williams, white and black Union troops fought together as a unit for the first time in a battle at Cabin Creek on 2 July 1863 in the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), against Confederate troops who had raided a train.
The most significant battle in Kansas during the Civil War occurred when Union forces under the command of Major General James G. Blunt and Confederate forces under General Douglas Cooper met in a series of clashes involving more than 25,000 troops, concluding in the Battle of Mine Creek, in which 10,000 troops fought. The First Kansas Colored Infantry underwent a forced march northeastward through Kansas to the battle and was stationed in the Union line's center. The regiment advanced to within thirty yards of the Confederate center, enduring heavy losses until the Confederate line broke and fled, ending the major Confederate threat to Kansas.
During the war, Confederate guerrilla units raided Kansan settlements. Under the command of Captain William Clarke Quantrill, "Quantrill's Raiders" executed farm families and burned villages and towns. On 21 August 1863, Quantrill led 450 of his troops into Lawrence, Kansas; with most of the men of Lawrence off to war, Quantrill's Raiders killed nearly 200, few of them men. Quantrill remains despised in Kansas.
Building a State
From 1867 to 1869, a fierce war between the United States and Native Americans was fought in western Kansas. The Pawnees and others had objected to violations of treaties that guaranteed them the right of ownership of some of the land in Kansas. In 1868, General Phil Sheridan led an offensive against the warring tribes, and in 1869 the tribes were forced to settle in the Indian Territory, southwest of Kansas.
The 1870s and 1880s saw an influx of over 300,000 people into Kansas. Many were guided there by the New England Emigrant Aid Society (NEEAS) of Massachusetts. Among the people the NEEAS guided to Kansas were Mennonites from Russia, who in 1874 brought with them a hardy, drought-resistant, cold-resistant strain of dwarf wheat called "Turkey red wheat." This soon became the favorite winter wheat of Kansas, and it helped advance the growing of wheat throughout the United States.
One of the first actions of the new state legislature in 1861 was to grant women the right to vote in school board elections. It was a small advance for voting rights, but it was considered progressive at the time. Even so, some women activists scorned it, making enemies where they once had friends. During the 1870s and 1880s (known as the sodbuster decades for the sod houses that were built), many women activists were sidetracked by the prohibitionist movement, which was seen as a woman's issue because of the severe social problem of drunken husbands beating their wives. In 1880, Kansas voters approved the prohibition of sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages in the state. The law was ignored throughout Kansas; saloons operated openly in many towns.
In 1874, locusts invaded Kansas and much of the Midwest, denuding farmlands. It was an era of drought, and an adequate irrigation system did not yet exist. Over 30,000 people fled the drought. Once the rains returned in the late 1870s, the influx of settlers renewed. During 1879–1880, 30,000 "Exodusters" (a play on "sodbuster" and "exodus"), African Americans fleeing Southern states, migrated into Kansas.
Kansas was proud of its progressive image, and in 1887, women at last received the right to vote in municipal elections. Within a few weeks, the first female mayor elected in America, Susanna Madora Salter, became mayor of the town of Argonia. The next year, five towns had female mayors and city councils consisting entirely of women. The Populist Party (a.k.a. the People's Party) was founded in Topeka in 1890, and Populist Kansas governors, beginning with Lorenzo Lewelling in 1892, were supported by women. By 1911, over 2,000 women held public office in Kansas. In 1912, Kansas voted to give women full suffrage, the same voting rights as men had. In 1932, Kansas elected its first female member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kathryn O'Loughlin McCarthy.
In 1900, Kansas had an official population of 1,470,495 people. Before 1907, maize was the state's principal crop, but it was replaced in 1907 by wheat, much of it descended from the Turkey red wheat brought by Russian immigrants. The land still suffered from drought, about once every twenty years, but it was not until 1920 that farmers began to extensively irrigate their farmland. The irrigation system created a boom that made Kansas the world's leader in wheat production. In 1923, a motorized combine was introduced to Kansas, allowing a couple of men to do what had been the work of several horses and a score of men in 1900. In 1930, portable irrigation sprinkler systems were introduced, and the state became an example of prosperity.
Dust Bowl
Drought hit Kansas again during the 1930s. Most of the state's forest had been converted to farmland; its native grasses and other plants had been supplanted by sweeping farms, rich in wheat, maize, sorghum, and other cultivated grains. When streams dried up, and when the irrigation system could not find enough water for the central and western parts of the state, the soil dried. The topsoil had become powder. Kansas had always had high winds, and in the 1930s, the winds blew the powdery soil high into the air, often making day as dark as night. During 1934, the region became known as the "dust bowl."
Many farmers abandoned their farms. Some found work in Kansas's factories. Oil and natural gas strikes in southern Kansas and zinc mining in the western hills helped provide Kansas with income. By 1937, the prohibition law was seen as oppressive. Kansas changed the law to allow 3.2 percent beer to be produced and taxed; it also instituted a sales tax.
World War II and the 1950s
During World War II, Fort Riley, established in 1853 to protect travelers on the Santa Fe Trail, became a major military training base. In 1942, a prisoner of war camp was built near Concordia. The factories of Kansas became important parts of the production for war, and the oil and natural gas suppliers gained in importance. In 1943, Dwight David Eisenhower, who had been raised in Abilene, became Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, and he helped the growth of the military industry in Kansas.
The "progressive" state of Kansas had long had a dirty secret: racial segregation. On 28 February 1951, the father of eleven-year-old Linda Brown, an African American, filed suit in the United States District Court against Topeka's Board of Education, asking that she be allowed to attend a whites-only school and alleging that segregation violated Amendment XIV of the U.S. Constitution. On 17 May 1954, a team of attorneys led by Thurgood Marshall won a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that racial segregation was inherently unequal and therefore a violation of the Constitution. Brown v. Board of Education became the landmark court decision that would change the course of American society during the next fifty years.
The Modern Era
By 1960, the population of Kansas had increased to over 2,000,000 people. In 1969, part of the Kansas National Guard was called to duty and sent to serve in Vietnam. In 1970, the student union at Kansas University was set afire, probably as part of protests against the war.
In 1972, the state's constitution was amended, reducing the number of elected officials in the executive branch and extending to four years from two the terms of the elected officials of the executive branch. During that year, the Kansas legislature ratified the ill-fated Equal Rights Amendment that would have added a statement to the United States Constitution that women and men were to have the same civil rights. In 1973, the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant was begun; it would not come on line until 1985. In 1978, Nancy Landon Kassebaum, daughter of Alf Landon, Republican nominee for president in 1936, was elected to the United States Senate. She was the first woman who was not a widow of a senator to be elected to the Senate.
In 1980, Kansas established and funded programs to prevent child abuse. In 1986, Kansas changed its alcoholic beverage laws to allow serving liquor "by the drink." It also approved a state lottery. Its population was just under 2,500,000 in 1990. In 1991, Joan Finney became Kansas's first woman governor. Former Governor Mike Hayden was placed in charge of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. During the 1990s, the elaborate irrigation system for the High Plains and Plains Border regions became severely strained because the underground aquifer, consisting of sand mixed with water, was being seriously diminished, creating sinkholes and threatening an end to the underground water supply. In 2000, nearly 3,000,000 people lived in Kansas, mostly in cities.
Bibliography
Anderson, George L., Terry H. Harmon, and Virgil W. Dean, eds. History of Kansas: Selected Readings. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1987.
Bader, Robert Smith. Hayseeds, Moralizers, and Methodists: The Twentieth-Century Image of Kansas. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1988.
Davis, Kenneth S. Kansas: A Bicentennial History. New York: Norton, 1976.
Masters, Nancy Robinson. Kansas. New York: Grolier, 1998.
Napier, Rita, ed. A History of the Peoples of Kansas. Lawrence: Independent Study, Division of Continuing Education, University of Kansas, 1985.
Shortridge, James R. Peopling the Plains: Who Settled Where in Frontier Kansas. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995.
Wedel, Waldo R. Central Plains Prehistory: Holocene Environments and Culture Change in the Republican River Basin. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Kansas |
Facts and Figures
Area, 82,264 sq mi (213,064 sq km). Pop. (2000) 2,688,418, an 8.5% increase since the 1990 census. Capital, Topeka. Largest city, Wichita. Statehood, Jan. 29, 1861 (34th state). Highest pt., Mt. Sunflower, 4,039 ft (1,232 m); lowest pt., Verdigris River, 680 ft (207 m). Nickname, Sunflower State. Motto, Ad Astra per Aspera [To the stars through difficulties]. State bird, Western meadowlark. State flower, native sunflower. State tree, cottonwood. Abbr., Kans.; KS
Geography
Almost rectangular in shape and mostly part of the Great Plains, Kansas is famous for its seemingly endless fields of ripe golden wheat. The land rises more than 3,000 ft (914 m) from the eastern alluvial prairies of Kansas to its western semiarid high plains, which stretch toward the foothills of the Rocky Mts. The rise is so gradual, however, that it is imperceptible, although the terrains of the east and the west are markedly different. The state is drained by the Kansas and Arkansas rivers, both of which generally run from west to east.
The average annual rainfall of 27 in. (69 cm) is not evenly distributed: the eastern prairies receive up to 40 in. (102 cm) of rain, while the western plains average 17 in. (43 cm). Occasional dust storms plague farmers and ranchers in the west. The climate is continental, with wide extremes—cold winters with blizzards and hot summers with tornadoes. Floods also wreak havoc in the state; hence, flood-control projects, such as dams, reservoirs, and levees, are a major undertaking.
Topeka is the capital; other important cities are Wichita (the state's largest city),
Economy
Kansas is historically an agricultural state. Manufacturing and services have surpassed agriculture as income producers, but farming is still important to the state's economy, and Kansas follows only Texas and Montana in total agricultural acreage. The nation's top wheat grower, Kansas is also a leading producer of grain sorghum and corn. Hay, soybeans, and sunflowers are also major crops. Cattle and calves, however, constitute the single most valuable agricultural item. Meatpacking and dairy industries are major economic activities, and the Kansas City stockyards are among the nation's largest. Food processing ranked as the state's third largest industry in the 1990s.
The two leading industries are the manufacture of transportation equipment and industrial and computer machinery. Wichita is a center of the aircraft industry, producing chiefly private planes. Other important manufactures are petroleum and coal products and nonelectrical machinery. The state is a major producer of crude petroleum and has large reserves of natural gas and helium. Kansas was once part of a great shallow sea and has commercially valuable salt deposits.
Government and Higher Education
Government in Kansas is based on the constitution of 1859, adopted just before Kansas attained statehood. An elected governor serves a term of four years. The legislature has a senate with 40 members and a house of representatives with 125 members. Kansas is represented in the U.S. Congress by four representatives and two senators and has six electoral votes in presidential elections. The state has long been a Republican stronghold but has had some Democratic governors. Republican Bill P. Graves, elected in 1994 and reelected in 1998, was succeeded by Democrat Kathleen Sebelius, who also won (2002, 2006) two terms.
Institutions of higher learning include the Univ. of Kansas, at Lawrence; Kansas State Univ., at Manhattan; Wichita State Univ., at Wichita; and Washburn Univ. of Topeka, at Topeka.
History
Early Inhabitants, Exploration, and Relocations
When the Spanish explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado visited (1541) the Kansas area in his search for Quivira, a fabled kingdom of riches, the area was occupied by various Native American groups of the Plains descent, notably the Kansa, the Wichita and the Pawnee. Another Spanish explorer, Juan de Oñate, penetrated the region in 1601. A result of Spanish entry into the region was the introduction of the horse, which revolutionized the life of the Native Americans. While not actually exploring the Kansas area, Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, claimed (c.1682) for France all territory drained by the Mississippi River, including Kansas.
French traders and Native Americans had a great deal of contact during most of the 18th cent. By the Treaty of Paris of 1763 ending the French and Indian Wars, France ceded the territory of W Louisiana (including Kansas) to Spain. In 1800, Spain secretly retroceded the territory to France, from whom the United States acquired it in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The region was little known, however, and subsequent explorations to include Kansas were the Lewis and Clark expedition (1803–6), the Arkansas River journey of Zebulon M. Pike in 1806, and the scientific expedition of Stephen H. Long in 1819.
Most of the territory that eventually became Kansas was in an area known as the “Great American Desert,” considered unsuitable for U.S. settlement because of its apparent barrenness. In the 1830s the region was designated a permanent home for Native Americans, and northern and eastern tribes were relocated there. Forts were constructed for frontier defense and for the protection of the growing trade along the Santa Fe Trail, which crossed Kansas. Fort Leavenworth was established in 1827, Fort Scott in 1842, and Fort Riley in 1853.
Pro- and Antislavery Factions
Kansas, at this time mainly a region to be crossed on the way to California and Oregon, was organized as a territory in 1854. Its settlement, however, was spurred not so much by natural westward expansion as by the determination of both proslavery and antislavery factions to achieve a majority population in the territory. The struggle between the factions was further complicated by conflict over the location of a transcontinental railroad, with proponents of a central route (rather than a southern route) eager to resolve the slavery issue in the area and promote settlement.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), an attempted compromise on the extension of slavery, repealed the Missouri Compromise and reopened the issue of extending slavery north of lat. 36°30′ by providing for popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska, allowing settlers of territories to decide the matter themselves. Meanwhile, the Emigrant Aid Company was organized in Massachusetts to foster antislavery immigration to Kansas, and proslavery interests in Missouri and throughout the South took counteraction. Towns were established by each faction—Lawrence and Topeka by the free-staters and Leavenworth and Atchison by the proslavery settlers.
Soon all the problems attendant upon organizing a territory for statehood became subsidiary to the single issue of slavery. The first elections in 1854 and 1855 were won by the proslavery group; armed Missourians intimidated voters and election officials and stuffed the ballot boxes. Andrew H. Reeder was appointed the first territorial governor in 1854. The first territorial legislature ousted (1855) all free-state members, secured the removal of Gov. Reeder, established the capital in Lecompton, and adopted proslavery statutes. In retaliation the abolitionists set up a rival government at Topeka in Oct., 1855.
The Wakarusa War and Bleeding Kansas
Violence soon came to the territory. The murder of a free-state man in Nov., 1855, led to the so-called Wakarusa War, a bloodless series of encounters along the Wakarusa River. The intervention of the new governor, Wilson Shannon, kept proslavery men from attacking Lawrence. However, civil war ultimately turned the territory into “bleeding Kansas.” On May 21, 1856, proslavery groups and armed Missourians known as “Border Ruffians” raided Lawrence. A few days later a band led by the abolitionist crusader John Brown murdered five proslavery men in the Pottawatamie massacre. Guerrilla warfare between free-state men called Jayhawkers and proslavery bands—both sides abetted by desperadoes and opportunists—terrorized the land. After a new governor, John W. Geary, persuaded a large group of “Border Ruffians” to return to Missouri, the violence subsided.
The Lecompton legislature met in 1857 to make preparations for convening a constitutional convention. Gov. Geary resigned after it became clear that free elections would not be held to approve a new constitution. Robert J. Walker was appointed governor, and a convention held at Lecompton drafted a constitution. Only that part of the resulting proslavery constitution dealing with slavery was submitted to the electorate, and the question was drafted to favor the proslavery group. Free-state men refused to participate in the election with the result that the constitution was overwhelmingly approved.
Despite the dubious validity of the Lecompton constitution, President James Buchanan recommended (1858) that Congress accept it and approve statehood for the territory. Instead, Congress returned it for another territorial vote. The proslavery group boycotted the election, and the constitution was rejected. Lawrence became de facto capital of the troubled territory until after the Wyandotte constitution (framed in 1859 and totally forbidding slavery) was accepted by Congress. The Kansas conflict and the question of statehood for the territory became a national issue and figured in the 1860 Republican party platform.
Kansas became a state in 1861, with the capital at Topeka. Charles Robinson was the first governor and James H. Lane, an active free-stater during the 1850s, one of the U.S. Senators. In the Civil War, Kansas fought with the North and suffered the highest rate of fatal casualties of any state in the Union. Confederate William C. Quantrill and his guerrilla band burned Lawrence in 1863.
Life on the Prairie
With peace came the development of the prairie lands. The construction of railroads made cow towns such as
Agricultural production was periodically disrupted by national depressions and natural disasters. Repeated and prolonged droughts accompanied by dust storms, occasional grasshopper invasions, and floods all caused severe economic dislocation. Mortgages often weighed heavily on farmers, and discontent was expressed in farmer support of radical farm organizations and third-party movements, such as the Granger movement, Greenback party, and Populist party. Tax relief, better regulation of interest rates, and curbs on the power of railroads were sought by these organizations. Twice in the 1890s, Populist-Democrats were elected to the governorship.
As conditions improved, Kansas returned largely to its allegiance to the Republican party and gained a reputation as a conservative stronghold with a bent for moral reform, indicated in the state's strong support of prohibition; laws against the sale of liquor remained on the books in Kansas from 1880 to 1949. Over the years the use of improved agricultural methods and machines increased crop yield. Irrigation proved practicable in some areas, and winter wheat and alfalfa could be cultivated in dry regions.
Wars and Depression
Wheat production greatly expanded during World War I, but the end of the war brought financial difficulties. During the 1920s and 30s, Kansas was faced with labor unrest and the economic hardships of the depression. As part of the Dust Bowl, Kansas sustained serious land erosion during the long drought of the 1930s. Erosion led to the implementation of conservation and reclamation projects, particularly in the northern and western parts of the state. In 1924 an effort of the Ku Klux Klan to gain political control was fought by William Allen White, editor of the Emporia Gazette, who supported many liberal causes. Alfred M. Landon, elected governor in 1932, was one of the few Republican candidates in the country to win election in the midst of the sweeping Democratic victory that year. He was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate in 1936.
During World War II agriculture thrived and industry expanded rapidly. The food-processing industry grew substantially, the cement industry enjoyed a major revival, and the aircraft industry boomed. After the war agricultural prosperity once again declined when the state was hit by a severe drought and grasshopper invasion in 1948. Prosperity returned briefly during the Korean War, but afterward farm surpluses and insufficient world markets combined to make the state's tremendous agricultural ability part of the national “farm problem.”
Modern Kansas
Kansas has become increasingly industrialized and urbanized, and industrial production has surpassed farm production in economic importance. Flood damage in the state, especially after a major flood in 1951, spurred the construction of dams (such as the Tuttle Creek, Milford, and Wilson dams) on major Kansas rivers, and their reservoirs have vastly increased water recreational facilities for Kansans. Since the 1970s, Kansas has become increasingly more urban and suburban. Accordingly, the economy has shifted its emphasis to finance and service industries located in and around the major urban centers.
Bibliography
See P. Gates, Fifty Million Acres: Conflicts over Kansas Land Policy, 1854–1890 (1954); R. S. Brownlee, Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy (1960); W. T. Nugent, The Tolerant Populists (1963); J. R. Cook, The Border and the Buffalo (1967); C. C. Howes, This Place Called Kansas (1984); H. E. Socolofsky and H. Self, Historical Atlas of Kansas (2d rev. ed. 1989); R. Richmond, Kansas: A Land of Contrasts (3d ed. 1989).
| Geography: Kansas |
State in the central United States bordered by Nebraska to the north, Missouri to the east, Oklahoma to the south, and Colorado to the west. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita.
| Local Time: Kansas |
Local Time: Jul 4, 12:10 PM
Local Time: Jul 4, 11:10 AM
| Stats: Kansas |
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| Parks: Kansas |
| Wikipedia: Kansas |
| State of Kansas | |||||||||||
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| Official language(s) | English[1] | ||||||||||
| Demonym | Kansan | ||||||||||
| Capital | Topeka | ||||||||||
| Wichita | |||||||||||
| Largest metro area | Kansas City Metropolitan Area | ||||||||||
| Area | Ranked 15th in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 82,277 sq mi (213,096 km²) |
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| - Width | 211 miles (340 km) | ||||||||||
| - Length | 417 miles (645 km) | ||||||||||
| - % water | 0.56 | ||||||||||
| - Latitude | 37° N to 40° N | ||||||||||
| - Longitude | 94° 35′ W to 102° 3′ W | ||||||||||
| Population | Ranked 33rd in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 2,802,134 (2008 est.)[2] 2,688,418 (2000) |
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| - Density | 32.9/sq mi (12.7/km²) Ranked 40th in the US |
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| Elevation | |||||||||||
| - Highest point | Mount Sunflower[3] 4,039 ft (1,232 m) |
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| - Mean | 2,000 ft (600 m) | ||||||||||
| - Lowest point | Verdigris River[3] 679 ft (207 m) |
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| Admission to Union | January 29, 1861 (34th) | ||||||||||
| Governor | Mark Parkinson (D) | ||||||||||
| Lieutenant Governor | Troy Findley (D) | ||||||||||
| U.S. Senators | Sam Brownback (R) Pat Roberts (R) |
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| U.S. House delegation | Jerry Moran (R) Lynn Jenkins (R) Dennis Moore (D) Todd Tiahrt (R) (list) |
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| Time zones | |||||||||||
| - most of state | Central: UTC-6/-5 | ||||||||||
| - 4 western counties | Mountain: UTC-7/-6 | ||||||||||
| Abbreviations | KS US-KS | ||||||||||
| Website | www.kansas.gov | ||||||||||
The State of Kansas (
/ˈkænzəs/ (help·info)) is a Midwestern state[4] in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American "Heartland" or "America's Breadbasket" referring to the state's enormous wheat-growing agribusiness. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa tribe, who inhabited the area.[5] The tribe's name (natively kką:ze) is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south wind", although this was probably not the term's original meaning.[6][7] Residents of Kansas are called "Kansans".
Historically, the area was home to large numbers of nomadic Native Americans who hunted bison. It was first settled by European Americans in the 1830s, but the pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery issue. When officially opened to settlement by the U.S. government in 1854, abolitionist Free-Staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from neighboring Missouri rushed to the territory to determine if Kansas would become a free state or a slave state. Thus, the area was a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days as these forces collided, and was known as Bleeding Kansas. The abolitionists eventually prevailed and on January 29, 1861,[8][9] Kansas entered the Union as a free state. After the Civil War, the population of Kansas exploded when waves of immigrants turned the prairie into productive farmland. Today, Kansas is one of the most productive agricultural states, producing many crops, and leading the nation in wheat, sorghum[10] and sunflower production most years.
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Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north; Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; and Colorado on the west. The state is divided up into 105 counties with 628 cities. It is located equidistant from the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is located in Smith County near Lebanon, Kansas. The geodetic center of North America was located in Osborne County until 1983. This spot was used until that date as the central reference point for all maps of North America produced by the U.S. government. The geographic center of Kansas is located in Barton County.
The western two thirds of the state, lying in the great central plain of the United States, has a generally flat or undulating surface. However, the eastern third has many hills and forests. The land displays a gradual slope up from east to west; its altitude above the sea ranges from 684 ft (208 m) along the Verdigris River at Coffeyville in Montgomery County, to 4,039 ft (1,231 m) at Mount Sunflower, one half mile from the Colorado border, in Wallace County. It is a popular belief that Kansas is the flattest state in the nation, reinforced by a well known 2003 study[11] stating that Kansas was indeed "flatter than a pancake."[12] This has since been debunked, with most scientists ranking Kansas somewhere between 20th and 30th flattest state, depending on measurement method.[13]
The Missouri River forms nearly 75 mi (121 km) of the state's northeastern boundary. The Kansas River (locally known as the Kaw), formed by the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers at appropriately-named Junction City, joins the Missouri at Kansas City, after a course of 170 mi (270 km) across the northeastern part of the state. The Arkansas River (pronunciation varies), rising in Colorado, flows with a bending course for nearly 500 mi (800 km) across the western and southern parts of the state. It forms, with its tributaries (the Little Arkansas, Ninnescah, Walnut, Cow Creek, Cimarron, Verdigris, and the Neosho), the southern drainage system of the state. Other important rivers are the Saline and Solomon Rivers, tributaries of the Smoky Hill River; the Big Blue, Delaware, and Wakarusa, which flow into the Kansas River; and the Marais des Cygnes, a tributary of the Missouri River.
Areas under the protection of the National Park Service include:[14]
Kansas contains three climate types, according to the Köppen climate classification: humid continental, semiarid steppe, and humid subtropical. The eastern two-thirds of the state has a humid continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers. Most of the precipitation falls in the summer and spring. The western third of the state has a semiarid steppe climate. Summers are hot, often very hot. Winters are cold in the northwest and cool to mild in the southwest. Also, the western region is semiarid, receiving an average of only about 16 inches (40 cm) of precipitation per year. Chinook winds in the winter can warm western Kansas all the way into the 80°F (25°C) range. The far south-central and southeastern reaches of the state have a humid subtropical climate, hot summers, mild winters and more precipitation than the rest of the state.
Precipitation ranges from about 46 inches (1200 mm) annually in the southeast of the state, to about 16 inches (400 mm) in the southwest. Snowfall ranges from around 5 inches (130 mm) in the fringes of the south, to 35 inches (900 mm) in the far northwest. Frost-free days range from more than 200 days in the south, to 130 days in the northwest. Thus, Kansas is the 9th or 10th sunniest state in the country, depending on the source. Western Kansas is as sunny as parts of California and Arizona.
In spite of the frequent sunshine throughout much of the state, the state is also vulnerable to strong thunderstorms, especially in the spring. Many of these storms become Supercell thunderstorms. These can spawn tornadoes, often of F3 strength or higher. According to statistics from the National Climatic Data Center, Kansas has reported more tornadoes (for the period 1 January 1950 through to 31 October 2006) than any state except for Texas - marginally even more than Oklahoma. It has also - along with Alabama - reported more F5 tornadoes than any other state. These are the most powerful of all tornadoes. Kansas averages over 50 tornadoes annually.[15]
According to NOAA, the all time highest temperature recorded in Kansas is 121°F (49.4°C) on July 24, 1936, near Alton, and the all time low is -40°F (-40°C) on February 13, 1905, near Lebanon.
Kansas' all time record high of 121°F (49.4°C) ties with North Dakota for the fifth-highest all-time record high recorded in a state, behind California (134°F/56.7°C), Arizona (128°F/53.3°C), Nevada (125°F/51.7°C), and New Mexico (122°F/50°C).
| Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various Kansas Cities | ||||||||||||
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concordia | 36/17 | 43/22 | 54/31 | 64/41 | 74/52 | 85/62 | 91/67 | 88/66 | 80/56 | 68/44 | 51/30 | 40/21 |
| Dodge City | 41/19 | 48/24 | 57/31 | 67/41 | 76/52 | 87/62 | 93/67 | 91/66 | 82/56 | 70/44 | 54/30 | 44/22 |
| Goodland | 39/16 | 45/20 | 53/26 | 63/35 | 72/46 | 84/56 | 89/61 | 87/60 | 78/50 | 66/38 | 50/25 | 41/18 |
| Topeka | 37/17 | 44/23 | 56/33 | 66/43 | 75/53 | 84/63 | 89/68 | 88/65 | 80/56 | 69/44 | 53/32 | 41/22 |
| Wichita | 40/20 | 47/25 | 57/34 | 67/44 | 76/54 | 87/64 | 93/69 | 92/68 | 82/59 | 70/47 | 54/34 | 43/24 |
| [7] | ||||||||||||
For millennia, the land that is presently Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans. The first European to set foot in present-day Kansas was Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, who explored the area in 1541.
In 1803, most of modern Kansas was secured by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. From 1812 to 1821, this larger portion of Kansas was part of the Missouri Territory.
The jurisdictional history of southwest Kansas, specifically the area west of the 103rd meridian and south of the Arkansas River, is more complicated.
Prior to the Louisiana Purchase France and Spain had disputed jurisdiction over a wide area of North America, a small part of which included territory now in Southwest Kansas. With the Louisiana Purchase the United States assumed the position of France in that dispute. The Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, negotiated between the American Secretary of State John Quincy Adams and the Spanish Foreign Minister Luis de Onis Gonzalez Vara, completely resolved at least that portion of the dispute which concerned these disputed lands, including what is now southwest Kansas. Under the Adams-Onis Treaty all of the territory in North America which earlier had been the subject of dispute between Spain and France was conceded to Spain by the United States. In turn, under the terms of the Adams-Onis Treaty Spain awarded Florida to the United States. The Florida which the United States received from Spain included not only the territory of the present State of Florida, but also a coastal strip now located in southern Alabama, southern Mississippi, and south-eastern Louisiana.
When Mexico achieved independence from Spain in 1821, the area of what is now southwestern Kansas that had been ceded to Spain under the Adams-Onis Treaty fell under Mexican rule. It became a small part of the contemporaneous Mexican State of Coahila y Tejas.
In 1836 a portion of Coahila y Tejas seceded from Mexico and became the Republic of Texas. Although Mexico was forced de facto to recognize the independence of the Republic of Texas in 1836, the western boundary of the Republic of Texas remained in dispute. A small portion of the area in dispute between Mexico and the Republic of Texas is now southwestern Kansas. Under the "Treaties of Velasco," signed by General Antonio de Santa Ana on behalf of Mexico, this disputed area was recognized as part of the Republic of Texas. However, Mexico did not ratify the "Treaties of Velasco" on the ground that at the time of signing Santa Ana was not the President. (Indeed, only the American government had ever referred to these documents, one public and one secret, as treaties, and then only 10 years later by President Polk when justifying war with Mexico.) The Republic of Texas was annexed to the United States and simultaneously admitted into the Union as the 28th State on December 29, 1845. The large area which the Treaties of Velasco recognized as being part of the Republic of Texas all remained within the State of Texas at this time.
The admission of Texas into the American Union as a State resulted in the rupture of diplomatic relations between Mexico and the United States. The territorial dispute ultimately led to the Mexican-American War. The conclusion of that war was formalized on February 2, 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. One provision of that treaty established the western boundary of Texas as being in accordance with the "Treaties of Velasco." Thus, with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Mexico was removed as a contender for the large territory under consideration, a small part of which is now Southeastern Kansas. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo also transferred a large area, which has become called the Mexican Cession of 1848 and includes present-day California, Nevada, and Utah, all of present-day Arizona except for a strip along the southern border, western New Mexico (except for a strip along the southern border), that portion of present-day Colorado that is west of the crest of the Rocky Mountains, and a part of present-day Wyoming, to the United States. The Mexican Cession is distinct and separate from the clarification of the boundaries of the former Republic of Texas. However, the fate of the area that became southwestern Kansas was not part of the Mexican Cession but was affected only by the resolution of the boundary between Mexico and the former Republic of Texas.)
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five laws attempting to strike a political balance between pro- and anti-slavery interests. One of those laws, enacted September 9, 1850 drastically adjusted the borders of the State of Texas. Texas transferred a large amount of its area to the federal government in trade for $10,000,000 "stock," redeemable in 14 years and bearing 5 % interest. The area stripped away from the State of Texas was divided into three portions. Part of this area was assigned to a newly organized Territory of New Mexico and another part was assigned to a newly organized Territory of Utah. However, the third part remained unorganized territory of the United States. (The formal Territories had their own local governments, whereas the unorganized territories were ruled from Washington and/or by the military. The then-unorganized territory derived from Texas included southwestern Kansas, as well as the Panhandle of present-day Oklahoma, portion of eastern Colorado, and a small part of southern Wyoming.
The Santa Fe Trail traversed Kansas from 1821 to 1880, transporting manufactured goods from Missouri and silver and furs from Santa Fe, New Mexico. 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. The Kansas-Nebraska Act became law on May 30, 1854, establishing the U.S. territories of Nebraska and Kansas, 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, and Pueblo.
Missouri and Arkansas sent settlers into Kansas all along its eastern border. These settlers attempted to sway votes in favor of slavery. The secondary settlement of Americans in Kansas Territory were abolitionists from Massachusetts and other Free-Staters, who attempted to stop the spread of slavery from neighboring Missouri. Directly presaging the American Civil War, these forces collided, entering into skirmishes that earned the territory the name of Bleeding Kansas. Kansas was admitted to the United States as a free state on January 29, 1861, making it the 34th state to enter the Union. By that time the violence in Kansas had largely subsided. However, during the Civil War, on August 21, 1863, William Quantrill led several hundred men on a raid into Lawrence, destroying much of the city and killing nearly two hundred people. Until the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Quantrill's raid was the single bloodiest act of domestic terrorism in America.[citation needed] He was roundly condemned by both the conventional 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 (see Jones, Gray Ghosts and Rebel Riders Holt & Co. 1956, p.76).
After the Civil War, many veterans constructed homesteads in Kansas. Many African Americans also looked to Kansas as the land of "John Brown," and led by men like Benjamin "Pap" Singleton began establishing black colonies in the state. At the same time, the Chisholm Trail was opened and the Wild West era commenced in Kansas. Wild Bill Hickok was a deputy marshal at Fort Riley and a marshal at Hays and Abilene. Dodge City was another wild cowboy town, and both Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp worked as lawmen in the town. In one year alone, 8 million head of cattle from Texas boarded trains in Dodge City bound for the East, earning Dodge the nickname "Queen of the Cowtowns."
In part as a response to the violence perpetrated by cowboys, on February 19, 1881 Kansas became the first U.S. state to adopt a Constitutional amendment prohibiting all alcoholic beverages.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 107,206 |
|
|
| 1870 | 364,399 | 239.9% | |
| 1880 | 996,096 | 173.4% | |
| 1890 | 1,428,108 | 43.4% | |
| 1900 | 1,470,495 | 3.0% | |
| 1910 | 1,690,949 | 15.0% | |
| 1920 | 1,769,257 | 4.6% | |
| 1930 | 1,880,999 | 6.3% | |
| 1940 | 1,801,028 | −4.3% | |
| 1950 | 1,905,299 | 5.8% | |
| 1960 | 2,178,611 | 14.3% | |
| 1970 | 2,246,578 | 3.1% | |
| 1980 | 2,363,679 | 5.2% | |
| 1990 | 2,477,574 | 4.8% | |
| 2000 | 2,688,418 | 8.5% | |
| Est. 2008[2] | 2,802,134 | 4.2% | |
As of 2007, Kansas has an estimated population of 2,775,997, which is an increase of 20,180, or 0.7%, from the prior year and an increase of 87,579, or 3.3%, since the year 2000.[16] This includes a natural increase since the last census of 93,899 people (that is 246,484 births minus 152,585 deaths) and a decrease due to net migration of 20,742 people out of the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 44,847 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 65,589 people.[17] The population density of the state is 52.9 people per square mile.[18] The center of population of Kansas is located in Chase County, at 38°27′N 96°32′W / 38.45°N 96.533°W, approximately three miles north of the community of Strong City.[19]
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As of 2004, the population included 149,800 foreign-born (5.5% of the state population). The largest reported ancestries in the state are: German (25.9%), Irish (11.5%), English (10.8%), American (8.8%), French (3.1%), and Swedish (2.4%).[20] People of German ancestry are especially strong in the northwest, while those of British ancestry and descendants of white Americans from other states are especially strong in the southeast. Mexicans are present in the southwest and make up nearly half the population in certain counties. Many African Americans in Kansas are descended from the Exodusters, newly freed blacks who fled the South for land in Kansas following the Civil War.
See Also British American and German-American
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 405,844; the United Methodist Church with 206,187; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 101,696.[21]
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Kansas is one of the slowest-growing states in the nation. Known as a rural exodus, the last few decades have been marked by a migratory pattern out of the countryside into cities.
Out of all the cities in these Midwestern states, 89% have fewer than 3000 people, and hundreds of those have fewer than 1000. In Kansas alone, there are more than 6,000 ghost towns,[citation needed] according to one Kansas historian.[citation needed]
At the same time, some of the communities in Johnson County (metropolitan Kansas City) are among the fastest growing in the country.
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The 2003 gross domestic product of Kansas was US$97 billion, an increase of 4.3% over the prior year, but trailing the national average increase of 4.8%. Its per-capita income was US$29,438. The December 2003 unemployment rate was 4.9%. The agricultural outputs of the state are cattle, sheep, wheat, sorghum, soybeans, cotton, hogs, corn, and salt. Eastern Kansas is part of the Grain Belt, an area of major grain production in the central United States. The industrial outputs are transportation equipment, commercial and private aircraft, food processing, publishing, chemical products, machinery, apparel, petroleum and mining.
Kansas ranks 8th in U.S. oil production. Production has experienced a steady, natural decline as it becomes increasingly difficult to extract oil over time. Since oil prices bottomed in 1999, oil production in Kansas has remained fairly constant, with an average monthly rate of about 2.8 million barrels (450,000 m3) in 2004. The recent higher prices have made carbon dioxide sequestration and other oil recovery techniques more economical.
Kansas ranks 8th in U.S. natural gas production. Production has steadily declined since the mid-1990s with the gradual depletion of the Hugoton Natural Gas Field—the state's largest field which extends into Oklahoma and Texas. In 2004, slower declines in the Hugoton gas fields and increased coalbed methane production contributed to a smaller overall decline. Average monthly production was over 32 billion cubic feet (0.9 km³).
The Kansas economy is also heavily influenced by the aerospace industry. Several large aircraft corporations have manufacturing facilities in Wichita and Kansas City, including Boeing, Beech, Cessna, Learjet, and Hawker-Beechcraft (formerly Raytheon).
Kansas has three income brackets for income tax calculation, ranging from 3.5% to 6.45%. The state sales tax in Kansas is 5.3%. Various cities and counties in Kansas have an additional local sales tax. Except during the 2001 recession (March–November 2001) when monthly sales tax collections were flat, collections have trended higher as the economy has grown and two rate increases have been enacted. Total sales tax collections for 2003 amounted to $1.63 billion, compared to $805.3 million in 1990.
Revenue shortfalls resulting from lower than expected tax collections and slower growth in personal income following a 1998 permanent tax reduction has contributed to the substantial growth in the state's debt level as bonded debt increased from $1.16 billion in 1998 to $3.83 billion in 2006. Some increase in debt was expected as the state continues with its 10-year Comprehensive Transportation Program enacted in 1999. As of June 2004, Moody's Investors Service ranked the state 14th for net tax-supported debt per capita. As a percentage of personal income, it was at 3.8%—above the median value of 2.5% for all rated states and having risen from a value of less than 1% in 1992. The state has a statutory requirement to maintain cash reserves of at least 7.5% of expenses at the end of each fiscal year, however, lawmakers can vote to override the rule, and did so during the most recent budget agreement.
Major company headquarters in Kansas include the Sprint Nextel Corporation (with world headquarters in Overland Park), Embarq (with national headquarters in Overland Park), YRC Corp Overland Park, Garmin in Olathe, Payless Shoes (National headquarters and major distribution facilities in Topeka), and Koch Industries (with national headquarters in Wichita).
Kansas is served by two Interstate highways with one beltway, two spur routes, and three bypasses, with over a total of 874 miles (1,407 km) in all. The first section of Interstate in the nation was opened on I-70 just west of Topeka on November 14, 1956. I-70 is a major east/west route connecting to St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, in the east and Denver, Colorado, in the west. Cities along this route (from east to west) include Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka, Junction City, Salina, Hays, and Colby. I-35 is a major north/south route connecting to Des Moines, Iowa, in the north and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in the south. Cities along this route (from north to south) include Kansas City (and suburbs), Ottawa, Emporia, El Dorado, and Wichita.
Spur routes serve as connections between the two major routes. I-135, a north/south route, connects I-70 at Salina to I-35 at Wichita. I-335, a northeast/southwest route, connects I-70 at Topeka to I-35 at Emporia. I-335 and portions of I-35 and I-70 make up the Kansas Turnpike. Bypasses include I-470 around Topeka and I-235 around Wichita. I-435 is a beltway around the Kansas City Metropolitan Area while I-635 bypasses through Kansas City, Kansas.
US Route 69 runs north and south, from Minnesota to Texas. The highway passes through the eastern section of Kansas, from the Kansas City area, through Louisburg, Fort Scott, Frontenac, Pittsburg, and Baxter Springs before entering Oklahoma.
Kansas also has the second largest state highway system in the country after California. This is because of the high number of counties and county seats (105) and the intertwining of them all.
In January 2004, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) announced the new Kansas 511 traveler information service.[23] By dialing 511, callers will get access to information about road conditions, construction, closures, detours and weather conditions for the state highway system. Weather and road condition information is updated every 15 minutes. The elaborate and efficient transportation system in Kansas has attracted praise from experts nationwide, including the former Mayor of New York City, Ed Koch, who frequents Kansas roadways.
The state's only major commercial airport is Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, located along US-54 on the western edge of the city. Most air travelers in eastern Kansas fly out of Kansas City International Airport, located in Platte County, Missouri. For those in the far western part of the state, Denver International Airport is a popular option. Manhattan Regional Airport in Manhattan will commence commercial flights to Dallas in August 2009, making it the second commercial airport of the state[24].Connecting flights are available from smaller airports in Dodge City, Garden City, Great Bend, Hays, and Salina. Forbes Field in Topeka, Kansas sustained commercial flights on Allegiant Air for many years until that service was terminated in 2008.
The top executives of the state are Democratic Governor Mark Parkinson (as of April 28, 2009) and Lieutenant Governor Troy Findley. Both officials are elected on the same ticket to a maximum of two consecutive 4-year terms. Parkinson replaced Kathleen Sebelius who was appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services by President Barack Obama. Parkinson will be eligible for election in his own right in 2010, although he has publicly stated his intention not to run for a full term. The state's Attorney General is Democrat Stephen Six, a former Douglas County District Court Judge who was appointed to the post.
The legislative branch of the state government is the Kansas Legislature. The bicameral body consists of the Kansas House of Representatives, with 125 members serving two year terms, and the Kansas Senate, with 40 members serving four year terms.
| State symbols |
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Kansas has a reputation as a progressive state with many firsts in legislative initiatives—it was the first state to institute a system of workers' compensation (1910) and to regulate the securities industry (1911). Kansas also permitted women's suffrage in 1912, almost a decade before the federal constitution was amended to require it. Suffrage in all states would not be guaranteed until ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. The council-manager government was adopted by many larger Kansas cities in the years following World War I while many American cities were being run by political machines or organized crime, notably the Pendergast Machine in neighboring Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas was also at the center of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, a 1954 Supreme Court decision that banned racially segregated schools throughout the U.S.
Kansas was one of the few states where Franklin D. Roosevelt had limited political support, winning Kansas only twice. The state backed Republicans Wendell Willkie and Thomas E. Dewey in 1940 and 1944, respectively. Kansas also supported Dewey in 1948 despite the presence of incumbent president Harry S. Truman, who hailed from Independence, Missouri, approximately 15 miles east of the Kansas-Missouri state line.
Since the early 1960s, Kansas has grown more socially conservative. The 1990s brought new restrictions on abortion, the defeat of prominent Democrats, including Dan Glickman, and the Kansas State Board of Education's 1999 decision to eliminate evolution from the state teaching standards, a decision that was later reversed.[25] In 2005, voters accepted a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. The next year, the state passed a law setting a minimum age for marriage at 15 years. [26] In 2008, Governor Sebelius vetoed permits for the construction of new coal-fired energy plants in Kansas, saying: "We know that greenhouse gases contribute to climate change. As an agricultural state, Kansas is particularly vulnerable. Therefore, reducing pollutants benefits our state not only in the short term – but also for generations of Kansans to come." [27] However, shortly after Mark Parkinson became governor in 2009 upon Sebelius's resignation, Parkinson announced a compromise plan to allow construction of a coal-fired plant.
The state's current delegation to the Congress of the United States includes Republican Senators Sam Brownback of Topeka and Pat Roberts of Dodge City and Representatives Jerry Moran (R) of Hays (District 1), Lynn Jenkins (R) of Topeka (District 2), Dennis Moore (D) of Lenexa (District 3), and Todd Tiahrt (R) of Goddard (District 4).
Kansas has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932, when Franklin D. Roosevelt won his first term as President in the wake of the Great Depression. This is the longest Senate losing streak for either party in a single state. Senator Sam Brownback was a candidate for the Republican party nomination for President in 2008. Brownback has stated he will not be a candidate for re-election in 2010.
Historically, Kansas has been strongly Republican. In fact, the only non-Republicans Kansas has given its electoral vote to are Populist James Weaver and Democrats Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt (twice), and Lyndon Johnson. In 2004, George W. Bush won the state's six electoral votes by an overwhelming margin of 25 percentage points with 62% of the vote. The only two counties to support Democrat John Kerry in that election were Wyandotte, which contains Kansas City, and Douglas, home to the University of Kansas, located in Lawrence. The 2008 election brought similar results as John McCain won the state with 57% of the votes. Douglas (64% Obama, 34% McCain), Wyandotte (70% Obama, 29% McCain), and Crawford County (49% Obama, 48% McCain) were the only counties in support of President Barack Obama.[28]
The legal drinking age in Kansas is 21. In lieu of the state retail sales tax, a 10% Liquor Drink Tax is collected for liquor consumed on the licensed premises and an 8% Liquor Enforcement Tax is collected on retail purchases. Although the sale of cereal malt beverage (also known as 3.2 beer) was legalized in 1937, the first post-Prohibition legalization of alcoholic liquor did not occur until the state's constitution was amended in 1948. The following year the Legislature enacted the Liquor Control Act which created a system of regulating, licensing, and taxing, and the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) was created to enforce the act. The power to regulate cereal malt beverage remains with the cities and counties. Liquor-by-the-drink did not become legal until passage of an amendment to the state's constitution in 1986 and additional legislation the following year. As of November 2006, Kansas still has 29 dry counties and only 17 counties have passed liquor-by-the-drink with no food sales requirement.[29] Today there are more than 2600 liquor and 4000 cereal malt beverage licensees in the state.[30]
The state's investigative branch is the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The Kansas Corporation Commission regulates public utilities, common carriers, oil and gas production, telecommunications companies, and motor carriers. The Kansas Department of Agriculture regulates the supply of meat, milk and eggs among other agricultural goods and services. The Secretary of Agriculture is Adrian Polansky, who heads the department as well as operating Polansky farms.
| City | Population* | Growth rate** | Metro area | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wichita | 357,698 | 0.29% | Wichita |
| 2 | Overland Park | 166,722 | 1.78% | Kansas City |
| 3 | Kansas City | 143,801 | -0.34% | Kansas City |
| 4 | Topeka | 122,113 | -0.13% | Topeka |
| 5 | Olathe | 114,662 | 3.69% | Kansas City |
| 6 | Lawrence | 88,605 | 1.68% | Lawrence |
| 7 | Shawnee | 59,252 | 3.64% | Kansas City |
| 8 | Manhattan | 50,737 | 1.83% | ‡ |
| 9 | Salina | 50,000 | 0.13% | ‡ |
| 10 | Lenexa | 44,520 | 1.71% | Kansas City |
| 11 | Hutchinson | 41,085 | -0.29% | ‡ |
| 12 | Leavenworth | 34,993 | -0.23% | Kansas City |
| 13 | Leawood | 30,702 | 1.75% | Kansas City |
| 14 | Garden City | 27,175 | -0.80% | ‡ |
| 15 | Emporia | 26,188 | -0.40% | ‡ |
| 16 | Dodge City | 26,101 | 0.54% | ‡ |
| 17 | Prairie Village | 21,414 | -0.49% | Kansas City |
| 18 | Derby | 21,101 | 2.62% | Wichita |
| 19 | Liberal | 20,384 | 0.58% | ‡ |
| 20 | Hays | 19,726 | -0.23% | ‡ |
| 21 | Pittsburg | 19,120 | -0.12% | ‡ |
| 22 | Newton | 18,093 | 0.34% | Wichita |
| 23 | Junction City | 16,106 | -2.36% | Manhattan‡ |
| 24 | Gardner | 15,597 | 10.17% | Kansas City |
| 25 | Great Bend | 15,537 | 0.20% | ‡ |
| 26 | McPherson | 13,594 | -0.23% | ‡ |
| 27 | Ottawa | 12,792 | 1.15% | Kansas City |
| 28 | El Dorado | 12,718 | -0.13% | Wichita |
| 29 | Winfield | 11,741 | -0.65% | Winfield-Arkansas City‡ |
| 30 | Arkansas City | 11,416 | -0.78% | Arkansas City-Winfield‡ |
| 31 | Parsons | 11,237 | -0.36% | ‡ |
| 32 | Merriam | 10,773 | -0.35% | Kansas City |
| 33 | Lansing | 10,705 | 1.79% | Kansas City |
| 34 | Coffeyville | 10,387 | -0.97% | ‡ |
| 35 | Atchison | 10,154 | -0.13% | ‡ |
| 36 | Haysville | 10,029 | 2.45% | Wichita |
| *Estimated as of July 1, 2006[31] **Estimated annual growth rate 2000–2006 ‡Defined as a micropolitan area |
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Kansas has 627 incorporated cities. By state statute, cities are divided into three classes as determined by the population obtained "by any census of enumeration." A city of the third class has a population of less than 5,000, but cities reaching a population of more than 2,000 may be certified as a city of the second class. The second class is limited to cities with a population of less than 25,000, and upon reaching a population of more than 15,000, they may be certified as a city of the first class. First and second class cities are independent of any township and are not included within the township's territory.
The northeastern portion of the state, extending from the Eastern border to Junction City and from the Nebraska border to south of Johnson County, has a rich history and is home to more than 1.5 million people in the Kansas City, Lawrence,and Topeka metropolitan areas. In the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the cities of Johnson County have some of the fastest growing populations and highest median incomes in the state and the entire country. Overland Park, a young city incorporated in 1960, has the largest population and the largest land area in the county. It is home to Johnson County Community College, the state's largest community college, and the corporate campus of Sprint Nextel, the largest private employer in the metro area. In 2006 the city was ranked as the 6th best place to live in America; the neighboring city of Olathe was 13th.[32] Olathe is the county seat and home to Johnson County Executive Airport. The cities of Olathe, Shawnee, and Gardner have some of the state's fastest growing populations. The cities of Overland Park, Lenexa, Olathe, and Gardner are also notable because they lie along the former route of the Santa Fe Trail. Among cities with at least one thousand residents, Mission Hills has the highest median income in the state.
Several institutions of higher education are located in Northeast Kansas including Baker University (the first university in the state) in Baldwin City, MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Ottawa University in Ottawa and Overland Park, Kansas City Kansas Community College and KU Medical Center in Kansas City, and KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park. Less than an hour's drive to the west, Lawrence is home to the University of Kansas, the largest public university in the state, and Haskell Indian Nations University.
To the north, Kansas City, Kansas, with the second largest land area in the state, contains a number of diverse ethnic neighborhoods. Its attractions include the Kansas Speedway, Kansas City T-Bones and The Legends at Village West retail and entertainment center. Further up the Missouri River, the city of Lansing is the home of the state's first maximum-security prison. Historic Leavenworth, founded in 1854, was the first incorporated city in Kansas. North of the city, Fort Leavenworth is the oldest active Army post west of the Mississippi River. The city of Atchison was an early commercial center in the state and is well-known as the birthplace of Amelia Earhart.
To the west, nearly a quarter million people reside in the Topeka metropolitan area. Topeka is the state capital and home to Washburn University. Built at a Kansas River crossing along the old Oregon Trail, this historic city has several nationally registered historic places. Further westward along Interstate 70 and the Kansas River is Junction City with its historic limestone and brick buildings and nearby Fort Riley, well-known as the home to the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, also known as the "Big Red One." A short distance away, the city of Manhattan is home to Kansas State University, the second largest public university in the state and the nation's oldest land-grant university, dating back to 1863. South of the campus, Aggieville dates back to 1889 and is the state's oldest shopping district of its kind.
In south-central Kansas, the four-county Wichita metropolitan area is home to nearly 600,000 people. Wichita is the largest city in the state in terms of both land area and population. 'The Air Capital' is a major manufacturing center for the aircraft industry and the home of Wichita State University. With a number of nationally registered historic places, museums, and other entertainment destinations, it has a desire to become a cultural mecca in the Midwest. Although Wichita's population growth has been anemic in recent years, surrounding suburbs are among the fastest growing cities in the state. The population of Goddard has grown by more than 11% per year since 2000.[31] Other fast-growing cities include Andover, Maize, Park City, Derby, and Haysville.
Up river (the Arkansas River) from Wichita is the city of Hutchinson. The city was built on one of the world's largest salt deposits, and it has the world's largest and longest wheat elevator. It is also the home of Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Prairie Dunes Country Club and the Kansas State Fair. North of Wichita along Interstate 135 is the city of Newton, the former western terminal of the Santa Fe Railroad and trailhead for the famed Chisholm Trail. To the southeast of Wichita are the cities of Winfield and Arkansas City with historic architecture and the Cherokee Strip Museum (in Ark City). The city of Udall was the site of the deadliest tornado in Kansas on May 25, 1955; it killed 80 people in and near the city.[33] To the southwest of Wichita is Freeport, the state's smallest incorporated city (population 8).
Located midway between Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita in the heart of the Bluestem Region of the Flint Hills, the city of Emporia has several nationally registered historic places and is the home of Emporia State University, well-known for its Teachers College. It was also the home of newspaper man William Allen White.
Southeast Kansas Southeast Kansas has a unique history with a number of nationally registered historic places in this coal-mining region. Located in Crawford County (dubbed the Fried Chicken Capital of Kansas), Pittsburg is the largest city in the region and the home of Pittsburg State University. The neighboring city of Frontenac in 1888 was the site of the worst mine disaster in the state in which an underground explosion killed 47 miners. "Big Brutus" is located a mile and a half outside the city of West Mineral. Along with the restored fort, historic Fort Scott has a national cemetery designated by President Lincoln in 1862.
Central and North-Central Kansas Salina is the largest city in central and north-central Kansas. South of Salina is the small city of Lindsborg with its numerous Dala horses. Much of the architecture and decor of this town has a distinctly Swedish style. To the east along Interstate 70, the historic city of Abilene was formerly a trailhead for the Chisholm Trail and was the boyhood home of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. To the west is Lucas, the Grassroots Art Capital of Kansas.
Northwest Kansas
Westward along the Interstate, the city of Russell, traditionally the beginning of sparsely-populated northwest Kansas, is the home of former U.S. Senator Bob Dole and the boyhood home of U.S. Senator Arlen Specter. The city of Hays is home to Fort Hays State University and the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, and is the largest city in the northwest with a population of around 20,000. Two other landmarks are located in smaller towns in Ellis County: the "Cathedral of the Plains" is located 10 miles (16 km) east of Hays in Victoria, and the boyhood home of Walter Chrysler is 15 miles (24 km) west of Hays in Ellis. West of Hays, population drops dramatically, even in areas along I-70, and only two towns containing populations of more than 3,000: Colby and Goodland, which are located 35 milies apart along I-70. The city of Wichita, the largest in both area and population, has been mentioned in a handful of films and television programmes such as 90210, a CW teen drama from which a family emigrate to Bevery Hills (hence the title).
Southwest Kansas Southwest Kansas, and Dodge City in particular, is famously known for the cattle drive days of the late 19th century. The city of Dodge was built along the old Santa Fe Trail route. The city of Liberal is located along the southern Santa Fe Trail route. The first wind farm in the state was built east of Montezuma. Garden City has the Lee Richardson Zoo.
Education in Kansas is governed at the primary and secondary school level by the Kansas State Board of Education. The state's public colleges and universities are supervised by the Kansas Board of Regents.
Twice since 1999 the Board of Education has approved changes in the state science curriculum standards that encouraged the teaching of intelligent design. Both times, the standards were reversed after changes in the composition of the board in the next election.
Even though the Wizards are the only major professional sports league team within Kansas, many Kansans also support the sports teams of Kansas City, Missouri, including the Kansas City Royals (MLB), the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL) and the Kansas City Brigade (AFL). The Chiefs and the Royals play at the Truman Sports Complex, located about 10 miles (16 km) from the Kansas-Missouri state line. The Kansas City Brigade play in the newly opened Sprint Center. (The Wizards were based in Missouri at the time of their founding, and may move back across the state line into a new stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2010.)
Persons in western Kansas may sometimes support the major league teams in Denver. Many people who live close to the Oklahoma state line support the Dallas Cowboys. All Chiefs games are televised throughout Kansas by television stations in Topeka and Wichita, and Broncos and Cowboys games which do not conflict with Chiefs telecasts are also broadcast across the state.
Two major auto racing facilities are located in Kansas. The Kansas Speedway located in Kansas City hosts races of the NASCAR, IRL, and ARCA circuits. Also, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) holds drag racing events at Heartland Park Topeka.
While there are no franchises of the four major professional sports within the state, many Kansans are fans of the state's major college sports teams, especially the Jayhawks of the University of Kansas, commonly referred to as "KU", and the Wildcats of Kansas State University, known as "KSU" or "K-State" by many. Wichita State University, which also fields teams (called the Shockers) in Division I of the NCAA, is best known for its baseball program, winning the College World Series in 1989.
Both KU and K-State have tradition-rich programs in men's college basketball. The Jayhawks are a perennial national power, ranking third in all-time victories among NCAA programs, behind Kentucky and North Carolina. In April 2008, the Jayhawks won their fifth national crown (third NCAA tournament title). K-State also had a long stretch of success on the hardwood, lasting from the 1940s to the 1980s. Kansas State returned to the NCAA tournament in 2008 for the first time in 12 years. KU is tied for 4th all-time with 13 Final Four appearances, while K-State is tied for 17th with 4 appearances in the Final Four. Wichita State has made 1 Final Four appearance.
However, success on the football field has been infrequent for either team. When the two teams met in 1987, KU's record was 1-7 and K-State's was 0-8. Fittingly, the Governor's Cup that year, dubbed the "Toilet Bowl" by the media, ended in a 17-17 tie when the Jayhawks blocked a last-second K-State field goal attempt. There have been recent breakthroughs for both schools. KU won the Orange Bowl for the first time in three tries in January 2008, capping a 12-1 season, the best in school history. K-State was historically one of the worst college football programs in the country, until Bill Snyder arrived to coach the Wildcats in 1989. He turned K-State into a national force for most of the 1990s and early 2000s, until he retired after the 2005 season. Bill Snyder will return to the sideline for the 2009 season. The team won the Fiesta Bowl in 1997 and took the Big 12 Conference championship in 2003.
Notable success has also been achieved by the state's smaller schools in football. Pittsburg State University, a NCAA Division II participant, has claimed three national titles in football, two in the NAIA and most recently the 1991 NCAA Division II national title. Pittsburg State became the winningest NCAA Division II football program in 1995. PSU passed Hillsdale College at the top of the all-time victories list in the 1995 season on its march to the national runner-up finish. The Gorillas, in 96 seasons of intercollegiate competition, have accumulated 579 victories – posting a 579-301-48 overall mark.
Washburn University, in Topeka, won the NAIA Men's Basketball Championship in 1987. The Fort Hays State University men won the 1996 NCAA Division II title with a 34-0 record, and the Washburn women won the 2005 NCAA Division II crown. St. Benedict's College (now Benedictine College), in Atchison, won the 1954 and 1967 Men's NAIA Basketball Championships.
In 1992-93, KU became the second college program to participate in a football bowl game, the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and the College World Series in the same academic year. And in the 2007-08 academic year, KU's football and basketball programs set an NCAA Division I record for most combined victories with 49 total victories (12 in football and 37 in basketball).
Amelia Earhart (aviation pioneer), Carrie Nation (temperance activist), former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, former Vice President Charles Curtis, and former presidential candidates Bob Dole and Alf Landon called Kansas their home. NASA astronauts Ronald Evans, Joe Engle, and Steve Hawley also lived in Kansas.
Kansas was home to industrial and intellectual pioneers Walter Chrysler of automotive fame, Clyde Cessna and Lloyd Stearman (aviation pioneers), Jack Kilby (microchip inventor, The Nobel Prize Winner in Physics 2000), George Washington Carver (educator and scientist), Earl W. Sutherland, Jr. (The Nobel Prize Winner in Physiology or Medicine 1971), and Vernon L. Smith (The Nobel Prize Winner in Economics 2002). Also from Kansas are General Richard Myers (Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2001-05) and Robert Gates (United States Secretary of Defense December 2006 - Present). In addition, Kansas is the home of "Top Cop" Vern Miller who raided an Amtrak train on July 20, 1972, and confiscated all the liquor on board. He charged Amtrak with selling liquor-by-the-drink, illegal in Kansas at that time and the case was eventually declared, "al certiore," validating both the lower court's conviction and the flamboyant Miller's stance that, "If you don't like a law, get it changed...don't break it."[34]
Kansas was also home to Danny Carey (musician), Del Close (comdedian/actor), Inger Stevens (actress), Vivian Vance (actress), Samuel Ramey (opera singer), Louise Brooks (actress), Annette Bening (actress), Bill Kurtis (Journalist), Jack Cafferty (Journalist), John Brown (abolitionist), Langston Hughes (poet), Gordon Parks (photographer, movie director, musician, author), Fatty Arbuckle (actor), William Inge (writer), Dennis Hopper (actor), Kelli McCarty (actress and Miss USA 91), Buster Keaton (actor), Coleman Hawkins (Jazz musician), Martina McBride (Country Singer), Joe Walsh (Musician), Chely Wright (Country Musician), Melissa Etheridge (musician), Kirstie Alley (actress), Paul Rudd (actor), Sarah Lancaster (actress), Charlie Parker (Jazz musician), Mike Jerrick (network journalist), Steve Doocy (network journalist, author), Campbell Brown (network journalist), Jeff Probst (Survivor host), Melissa McDermott (Journalist), Phil McGraw (psychologist), and William Allen White (editor). And members of the progressive rock band Kansas: Dave Hope (bass), Phil Ehart (drums, percussion) and Kerry Livgren (guitars, keyboards, synthesizers) formed the group named Kansas in 1970 in their hometown of Topeka, along with vocalist Lynn Meredith from Manhattan, Kansas.
Famous athletes from Kansas include Clint Bowyer, Braden Looper, Johnny Damon, Kyle Farnsworth, Wes Santee, Joe Carter, Wilt Chamberlain, George Brett, Barry Sanders, Gale Sayers, Darren Sproles, John H. Outland, Steve Fritz, Billy Mills, Jim Ryun, Walter Johnson, Jackie Stiles, Scott Fulhage, Caroline Bruce, John Riggins, Maurice Greene, Kendra Wecker, and Lynette Woodard. Kansas was also home to coaches James Naismith, Larry Brown, Phog Allen, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Ralph Miller, Gene Keady, Lon Kruger, John Calipari, Roy Williams, Glen Mason, Tex Winter, Dana Altman, Mark Turgeon, Bill Self, Bill Snyder, and Eddie Sutton.
Famous fictional residents include: "Marshal Matt Dillon," from the TV show Gunsmoke, "Mary Ann Summers," of Gilligan's Island, "Dennis Mitchell," of, Dennis the Menace, "Dean" and "Sam Winchester," from the TV show, Supernatural, "Clark Kent"/Superman, "Liz Sherman," from the, "Hellboy" comic book series, "Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell," of, Stargate SG-1, "Walter" and "India Bridge," from, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, "Jonas Nightengale," from, Leap of Faith, "Bailey," from The Suite Life on Deck, and "Dorothy Gale," from, The Wizard of Oz.
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| Preceded by Oregon |
List of U.S. states by date of statehood Admitted on January 29, 1861 (34th) |
Succeeded by West Virginia |
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| Translations: Kansas |
Português (Portuguese)
n. - Kansas
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
堪萨斯州
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 堪薩斯州
한국어 (Korean)
캔자스 (미국 중부의 주; 주도 Topeka; (약) Kan., Kans.; 속칭 Sunflower State, Jayhawker)
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| Geography. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more |
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