"Border Ruffians" were residents from nearby Missouri who entered the Territory of Kansas and utilized voter fraud to sway the vote in the 1854 elections in favor of pro-slavery candidate. In May 1858 the Border Ruffians from Missouri killed five unarmed men who were against Kansas becoming a slave state. The killings became known as the Marais des Cygnes massacre.
"Border Ruffians" were residents from nearby Missouri who entered the Territory of Kansas and utilized voter fraud to sway the vote in the 1854 elections in favor of pro-slavery candidates.
"Border Ruffians" were residents from nearby Missouri who entered the Territory of Kansas and utilized voter fraud to sway the vote in the 1854 elections in favor of pro-slavery candidate. In May 1858 the Border Ruffians from Missouri killed five unarmed men who were against Kansas becoming a slave state. The killings became known as the Marais des Cygnes massacre.
Tensions and violence over slavery spread outside Kansas
The Border Ruffians were pro-slavery activists who primarily came from the slave state of Missouri. They crossed the border into Kansas during the Bleeding Kansas period to influence the outcome of elections and support the expansion of slavery into the territory.
"Border Ruffians" were residents from nearby Missouri who entered the Territory of Kansas and utilized voter fraud to sway the vote in the 1854 elections in favor of pro-slavery candidate. In May 1858 the Border Ruffians from Missouri killed five unarmed men who were against Kansas becoming a slave state. The killings became known as the Marais des Cygnes massacre.
john brown executed five proslavery settlers 20 miles south of lawrence
Pro-slavery groups that went to Kansas to try to keep slavery legal there were called Border Ruffians. They were made up of pro-slavery activists from neighboring states who crossed into Kansas to influence the antislavery vote. These groups were responsible for the violence and intimidation tactics used during the period known as "Bleeding Kansas."
They were disappointed that the experiment with putting slavery to the vote seemed to be causing violence, and they blamed the South for sending ruffians into Kansas to intimidate the voters. The South, of course, blamed the North for doing the same.
Kansas earned the nickname Bleeding Kansas during the series of events that led to the settlement of Kansas territory between 1853 and 1861. The events caused violence and blood shed, leading to the nickname.
The Border Ruffians were pro-slavery activists from the slave state of Missouri who crossed the border into Kansas in the mid-19th century to influence elections and intimidate anti-slavery settlers during the Bleeding Kansas period. They were known for using violent tactics to push their pro-slavery agenda in the region.
Bleeding Kansas
Western Missouri