I find myself in need of a really good source on Bleeding Kansas (1856-1858), and, in particular, the history of the republican party in Kansas during those years. If anyone can recommend a good book or two, I’d be grateful.
Thanks.
Research help request
31 October 2013 | 9 Comments
31 October 2013 at 1:56 pm
It isn’t on point but the late George McDonald Fraser fictional Flashman historical series has “Flashman and the Angel of the Lord” which is all about Brown’s Harper Ferry rebellion. Flashman is an acquired taste but all the books are masterful at making you feel like you understand the people involved.
31 October 2013 at 2:50 pm
Bleeding Kansas by Nicole Etcheson, published by the University of Kansas Press is a pretty decent source. I don’t specifically recall much about the local Republican party in it, as I last read it circa ’06, but it’s a pretty exhaustively sourced book- so if the resources existed, she probably used them.
If I get a chance later, I’ll have a glance around the academic databases and see if I can come up with more.
31 October 2013 at 3:34 pm
Whatever Happened to Kansas? (I forget the author.)
31 October 2013 at 3:58 pm
I don’t know if it’s what you’re looking for, but BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM by James McPherson has some relevant info on Kansas from that era. However, I am mostly recommending this for its bibliography! Which should have several books on the topic listed.
31 October 2013 at 4:57 pm
Kansas: a history of the Jayhawk State by William Frank Zornow, 1957 has a 13 page chapter on “Bleeding Kansas, 1854-1859” — you’d have to check your local library or buy a copy online.
There’s a short article from Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains (Summer 1995) available online titled How Bloody Was Bleeding Kansas?Political Killings in Kansas Territory, 1854–1861
There’s also a 370 page book devoted to the topic: Bleeding Kansas: Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era By Nicole Etcheson, 2006. Many reviews of the book are available, one can be found here or here
31 October 2013 at 5:33 pm
Available online resources include:
Bleeding Kansas and the Pottawatomie Murders, from the The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 1920.
Bleeding Kansas Essential Civil War Curriculum, June 2012 an essay by historian Nicole Etcheson,
Women of Bleeding Kansas, a Master’s Thesis by Leigh Jackson, Wichita State University, 2008
Beyond the Sphere: Revolutionary Women in Bleeding Kansas and the Civil War an undergraduate thesis by Kaci Nash, 2005, Univ. of Kansas.
Willing to Die for Freedom online exhibits from the Kansas Historical Society.
31 October 2013 at 9:55 pm
Also, I would definitely ask Terry Bisson this. I’m pretty sure he did a ton of research to write Fire on the Mountain.
1 November 2013 at 11:49 am
I recommend Eric Foner! I confess I only read his book about Reconstruction, but I was very impressed with how well researched and enjoyable to read it was, and how insightful Foner is – he really synthesizes history.
This text seems relevant to your specific request:
Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War
(http://www.amazon.com/Free-Soil-Labor-Men-Republican/dp/0195094972)
1 November 2013 at 12:05 pm
Thanks, all! I’ve ordered several of these (especially Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men, which seems to be exactly what I was looking for; thank you).