By March 1855, Kansas had enough settlers to hold an election for a territor-
ial legislature. However, thousands of “border ruffians” from the slave state of
Missouri, led by Missouri senator David Atchison, crossed into Kansas with their
revolvers cocked and voted illegally. They won a fraudulent majority for the
proslavery candidates, who set up a government at Lecompton and promptly
issued a series of proslavery acts. Furious over events in Lecompton, abolitionists
organized a rival government in Topeka in fall 1855.
“THE SACK OF LAWRENCE”
Before long, violence surfaced in the struggle for
Kansas. Antislavery settlers had founded a town named Lawrence. A proslavery
grand jury condemned Lawrence’s inhabitants as traitors and called on the local
sheriff to arrest them. On May 21, 1856, a proslavery posse of 800 armed men
swept into Lawrence to carry out the grand jury’s will. The posse burned down
the antislavery headquarters, destroyed two newspapers’ printing presses, and
looted many houses and stores. Abolitionist newspapers dubbed the event “the
sack of Lawrence.”
“THE POTTAWATOMIE MASSACRE”
The news from Lawrence soon reached
John Brown, an abolitionist described by one historian as “a man made of the
stuff of saints.” Brown believed that God had called on him
to fight slavery. He also had the mistaken impression that
the proslavery posse in Lawrence had killed five men. Brown
was set on revenge. On May 24th, he and his followers
pulled five men from their beds in the proslavery settlement
of Pottawatomie Creek, hacked off their hands, and stabbed
them with broadswords. This attack became famous as the
“Pottawatomie Massacre” and quickly led to cries for
revenge. It became the bloody shirt that proslavery Kansas
settlers waved in summoning attacks on Free-Soilers.
The massacre triggered dozens of incidents throughout
Kansas. Some 200 people were killed. John Brown fled
Kansas but left behind men and women who lived with
rifles by their sides. People began calling the territory
Bleeding Kansas, as it had become a violent battlefield in
a civil war.
VIOLENCE IN THE SENATE
Violence was not restricted to
Kansas, however. On May 19, Massachusetts senator Charles
Sumner delivered in the Senate an impassioned speech later
called “The Crime Against Kansas.” For two days he verbal-
ly attacked his colleagues for their support of slavery.
Sumner was particularly abusive toward the aged senator
Andrew P. Butler of South Carolina, sneering at him for his
proslavery beliefs and making fun of his impaired speech.
On May 22, Butler’s nephew, Congressman Preston
S. Brooks, walked into the Senate chamber and over to
Sumner’s desk. “I have read your speech twice over, careful-
ly,” Brooks said softly. “It is a libel on South Carolina and
Mr. Butler, who is a relative of mine.” With that, he lifted
up his cane and struck Sumner on the head repeatedly
before the cane broke. Sumner suffered shock and apparent
brain damage and did not return to his Senate seat for over
three years.
Southerners applauded and showered Brooks with
new canes, including one inscribed with the words, “Hit
him again!” Northerners condemned the incident as yet
316 C
HAPTER 10
JOHN BROWN
1800–1859
John Brown was a fiery idealist
who believed that God had called
on him to fight slavery. He was
raised in a deeply religious anti-
slavery family. Brown was never
financially successful although he
tried a variety of ventures, from
farming to land speculation.
By 1849, Brown was living in
the black community of North
Elba, New York. He supported
many abolitionist causes, such as
David Walker’s Appeal and helped
finance farms for fugitive slaves.
Brown became a power ful sym-
bol of the moral issue of slavery
in the North and reinforced the
worst fears of the South. After a
number of raids on proslavery
settlers in Kansas and a raid on
Harpers Ferry, Virginia, Brown
was caught. He was hanged for
treason in 1859.
D
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
D
Analyzing
Causes
Why did
Kansas become
a center of
controversy over
the issue of
slavery?
D. Answer
Because the
Kansas-
Nebraska Act
opened the ter-
ritory to slavery,
and both pro-
and antislavery
forces settled in
Kansas and
fought for con-
trol of its territo-
rial government.
