Kansas was a new state, and Congress had allowed the local population to vote whether it should be slave or free. ('Popular Sovereignty')
This attracted every bully-boy from both sides to cross into the state and intimidate voters. There was much bloodshed, and 'Bleeding Kansas' is viewed as a curtain-raiser for the Civil War.
Kansas territory
The term "Bleeding Kansas" was coined in 1856 to describe the violent conflicts between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in the Kansas Territory. The struggle over whether Kansas would enter the Union as a free or slave state led to widespread bloodshed and turmoil, capturing national attention and earning the territory its bloody nickname.
fighting between pro-slavery and antislavery forces
The Kansas-Nebraska Act also led to "Bleeding Kansas," a mini civil war that erupted in Kansas in 1856. Northerners and Southerners flooded Kansas in 1854 and 1855, determined to convert the future state to their view on slavery.
Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas Nebraska act set up the situation leading to Brown and his sons killing people in Lawrence Kansas.
Kansas was thrown into a violent period known as Bleeding Kansas on May 21, 1856, at the hands of anti-slavery advocates from Missouri. It would end with the institution of the Lecompton Constitution.
Kansas earned the nickname bleeding Kansas because in may 1856 pro-slavery jurors charged antislavery leaders with treason. pro-slavery forces rode to Lawrence to arrest those charged. When they found the suspects had fled they burned the town
John Brown was against slavery in the United States. He advocated armed insurrection to overthrow slavery in the U.S. He led small groups of volunteers during the Bleeding Kansas crisis of 1856.
1856.
What happened in the town Lawrence, Kansas in May 1856
The Kansas town that burned in 1856 was Lawrence. It was a significant event during the tumultuous period of "Bleeding Kansas," a series of violent confrontations between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions. The town, known for its abolitionist stance, was attacked by pro-slavery forces, resulting in widespread destruction and heightened tensions in the region.