Immigration and Early Settlement

Many of the people who settled in Kansas Territory came for land and business opportunities. These settlers were not involved in the debate about whether or not Kansas should enter the Union as a free or slave state. All settlers in Kansas Territory endured the hardships found on any frontier. They raised crops to feed themselves and their livestock. They built houses and stores and established schools and churches. The weather was often a factor, and a large number of settlers left the territory after the bitter winter of 1856. [More]

Emigrant Aid Organizations
   Free State
      New England Emigrant Aid Company
      Connecticut Kansas Colony
      National Kansas Committee
      New York State Kansas Committee
      Massachusetts State Kansas Committee
      Other organizations
   Pro-slavery
      Buford expedition
      Clayton expedition

The Economy
   Agriculture
   Banking
   Communications
      Newspapers
      Pony Express
      Telegraph
   Drought
   Land
      Speculation
      Land acquisition
      Surveying
   Law
   Medicine
   Milling
   Pike's Peak Gold Rush
   Relief
   Retail businesses (stores)
   Transportation
      Freighting
      Railroads
      Stage coaching
      Trails and roads
      Water transportation

Community Life
   Education/Schools
   Entertainment
   Ethnic groups
   Organizations and clubs
   Religion
   Town development

Daily Life

African-Americans
   Underground Railroad
   Slaves in Kansas Territory

American Indians

Specific Settlements
   Atchison
   Connecticut Kansas Colony
   Emporia
   Eudora
   Fort Scott
   Lawrence
   Leavenworth
   Lecompton
   Lyon Creek Settlement (German)
   Manhattan
   Osawatomie
   Ottawa
   Pawnee
   Quindaro
   Tecumseh
   Topeka
   Utopian Communities
   Wyandotte