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In 1854, the U.S. Congress created Kansas Territory. Whether it would become a slave state, or free, was up to its citizens - so abolitionist Northerners and proslavery Southerners plied their influence on the settlers. Others took the direct route: they rushed into the territory to claim it for their own political side.

So began a conflict which would be called "Bleeding Kansas" for the s... More

In 1854, the U.S. Congress created Kansas Territory. Whether it would become a slave state, or free, was up to its citizens - so abolitionist Northerners and proslavery Southerners plied their influence on the settlers. Others took the direct route: they rushed into the territory to claim it for their own political side.

So began a conflict which would be called "Bleeding Kansas" for the shocking violence that left over 200 dead as the two sides sparred for control. The cast of characters ranged from Stephen Douglas, the architect of the Kansas-Nebraska Act whose presidential ambitions were veiled; to Missouri "border ruffians," who ducked in and out of the area to pack elections and terrorize Free Staters; to fanatical John Brown, whose strategy in the Pottawatomie Creek massacre called for "making examples" of the proslavery corpses he left behind; to Sheriff Jones, who enjoyed federal backing in the sack of Free-State Lawrence. All manner of politicians promoted or ducked the issues while Kansas bled. The confusion suffered in this sad and violent time by ordinary people is brought home in their diaries and letters, which are woven throughout this book.

What Karen Zeinert makes clear is how significant the undeclared war in Kansas was for this country. The conflict spread far beyond the territory, deepening the division over slavery in America, tearing apart one political party and giving rise to another. The endless struggle of "Bleeding Kansas" was a bell tolling, a dire warning and a foreshadowing of the catastrophe to come when America went to battle against itself in the Civil War.

A Linnet Book. Grades 6-up, xiv, 106 p., illus., timeline, cast of characters, bibliog. Library binding, 0-208-02446-8, $25.00.

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