When did violence erupt in Kansas?

Answer 1

I think it was because the first people to get there could choose whether or not the state allowed slaves. Therefore both sides wanted to quickly get there and claim it as their own.

Answer 2

The Kansas territory was a potential area for the expansion of slavery. The people who profited from slavery saw this as a huge opportunity. Most of the pioneers moving into Kansas were anti-slavery. Several pro-slavery Missouri gangs, popularly called Bushwhackers, organized raids into Kansas. They disrupted elections, robbed stores and in some cases shot or hanged anti-slavery leaders. The Kansas people organized their own border gangs called Jayhawkers, who raided small towns in Missouri in reprisal for the Bushwhacker raids. Some of the raids were incredibly cruel. More than 200 people died.

Answer 3

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 called for "popular sovereignty." The decision about slavery was to be made by the settlers in Kansas rather than by outsiders. The decision as to whether Kansas would become a free state or a slave state would be decided by the votes of people in Kansas. Whichever side had more votes counted by officials would decide if Kansas would become a free state or a slave state.

Answer 4

Slavery was the cause of violence in the Kansas Territory from 1854 until Kansas entered the Union as a free state in 1861. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 allowed settlers to vote on whether a territory would be a slave or free state when it entered the Union. Pro and anti- slavery groups used armed and deadly conflict. It was almost like an internal civil war.