「1/29 今日美史」堪萨斯州作为自由州加入联邦，有什么意义？

每天一篇《美国历史上的今天》，提炼和总结历史在今天发生的重要事件：谁，在哪里，什么时候，做了什么，这件事为什么重要、以及在写关于什么主题的论文的时候可以作为潜在论据引用。每天半分钟，轻松积累史实，为AP历史拿5分打下坚实基础。

1/29

When: 1861

Where：Kansas

What：Kansas, deeply pided over the issue of slavery, was granted statehood as a free state in a gesture of support for Kansas’ militant anti-slavery forces, which had been in armed conflict with pro-slavery groups since Kansas became a territory in 1854.

Why significant：The struggle between pro-and anti-slave forces in Kansas became a major factor in the eruption of the Civil War.

Trouble in territorial Kansas began with the signing of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act, which stipulated that settlers in the newly created territories of Nebraska and Kansas would decide by popular vote whether their territories would be free or slave. In Nebraska there was no debate over the issue, as the territory was filled with settlers from the Midwest, where there was no slavery. In Kansas, the situation was complicated. Although most of the settlers were anti-slave or abolitionists, there were many pro-slave Missourians lurking just over the border. When residents in the territory voted on the issue, many fraudulent votes were cast from Missouri. As these forces collided, the area became a hotbed of violence and chaos in its early days, and earned the name “Bleeding Kansas.”

During the next four years, raids, skirmishes, and massacres continued in “Bleeding Kansas.” The territory’s admittance into the Union in January 1861 only increased tension, but just three and a half months later the irrepressible differences in Kansas were swallowed up by the full-scale outbreak of the American Civil War. During the Civil War, Kansas suffered the highest rate of fatal casualties of any Union state, largely because of its great internal pisions over the issue of slavery.

Tags：Civil War, Slavery, Kansas-Nebraska Act

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