Beginning in March
Available by reservation
Bleeding Kansas Traveling Trunk

Put together by the National Historic Site and available through Greenbush. Videos, CD, books, plays, cards, drinking gourds, etc. provide teaching across the curriculum - history, math, science, literature, music. This is a five-day program with lesson plans included. Could also be used as a program for groups.<-------

First Blood: Kansas Prelude to the Civil War
Citizens Bank NA
200 Main Street
Downtown Fort Scott
620-223-1200
In Main Lobby during business hours

 

Savage guerrilla warfare was ignited by both pro and anti-slavery forces prior to the Civil War in the 1850's eastern Kansas territory, known as Bleeding Kansas. Through photos, maps, images and quotes, this exhibit portrays the human face of Territorial history, which was the pivotal era leading to our national war over slavery. <-------

DAVE DICKERSON (David Rice Atchison)

ADULT WORKSHOP
Sound on the goose

The word goose was the code of the day for the slavery question. Those who favored a slave-holding Kansas were referred to as being "sound on the goose." Find out more about the life and times of David Rice Atchison, the border ruffians, and others who supported a pro-slavery state during the Bleeding Kansas era.

CHILDREN'S WORKSHOP
Important Places and Faces

Using maps, participants will explore where in Kansas and Missouri the "border war" took place. What did the surrounding areas look like? How long would it take for a Missourian on horseback to get to Kansas? In addition, children will examine the lives of some of the famous faces of the time period: Andrew H. Reeder, James H. Lane, David Rice Atchison, and Charles A. Hamelton.

DAVID MATHENY (John Brown)

ADULT WORKSHOP
Becoming an Abolitionist

Many of the free state emigrants to Kansas Territory regarded themselves as Abolitionists. However, there were several different interpretations of both the Abolitionist movement and its methods to end slavery. Using rhetoric from leading Abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison, Charles Hodge, Angelina Grimke, and Wendell Phillips, participants will discuss the differences that existed within the movement, as well as their reactions to John Brown's methods in Kansas and his raid on Harper's Ferry.

ADULT WORKSHOP
Changing Opinions and Images of John Brown

Until 1913, the biographies of John Brown were filled with praise, treating him as a martyred saint. From 1913 until 1959, the biographies were highly critical, suggesting Brown was a murderous madman. Since then, biographies have taken a more balanced approach, offering a view of a flawed man who remained true to a noble cause. Participants in this workshop will discuss the works on Brown by Stephen Oates, Merrill Peterson, and Louis Ruchames. Brown's varied image in the arts will also be discussed.

FREDERICK A. KREBS (Stephen A. Douglas)

ADULT WORKSHOP
The Kansas-Nebraska Act

As chairman of the Senate Committee on Territories, Stephen Douglas was responsible for the organization of all of the unorganized land west of the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. His vision of "popular sovereignty" was a vision of American democracy driven by western expansion. This workshop explores the concept of popular sovereignty and the details of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. How did Douglas's dream of democracy collide with the emerging nightmares of Bleeding Kansas?

CHILDREN'S WORKSHOPS
Growing Up in the Territory

What was it like to be a child in Kansas Territory? Daily life including school lessons, chores, church, food, and home life will be explored. Children will have a chance to examine artifacts from the period, play historical games, and participate in other hands-on activities. Tall Tales of Territorial Times Hear frontier and legendary stories commonly told in Kansas Territory. Not your ordinary Once Upon a Time, these stories from James Fenimore Cooper and Edgar Allan Poe, tall tales of Davy Crockett and Johnny Appleseed, and others from American history are sure to leave participants wanting more!

CHARLES EVERETT PACE (Frederick Douglass)

ADULT WORKSHOP
My Bondage and My Freedom

People who know the writings of Frederick Douglass are perhaps most familiar with his first autobiography The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas an American Slave Written by Himself (1845). In this workshop, participants will discuss his second autobiography, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), and examine his life as slave, fugitive, freedman, as well as orator, abolitionist, and activist.

CHILDREN'S WORKSHOP
Folktales of African Peoples in America

Folktales are enduring voices of the African American experience during the time before the Civil War. Through performance, participants will examine several Black folktales and explore their meanings. What do these stories teach us? And why is this important?

RICHARD JOHNSON (Abraham Lincoln)

ADULT WORKSHOP
Lincoln Lore

Since his presidency and untimely assassination, many Americans have embraced Lincoln's legacy, repeating stories of determination, honesty, and humor. Why are these stories of Honest Abe so important to us as individuals, as well as a nation? Participants will have a chance to share their own stories and reflections about the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln.

CHILDREN'S WORKSHOP
Dear Mr. President

In 1860 a young girl named Grace Bedell wrote to a clean-shaven Abraham Lincoln encouraging him to grow a beard. Her letter is credited with helping create the popular image of Lincoln we know today. Participants will read and listen to other letters written by children to American presidents, find out more about Bedell's Kansas connection, and have a chance to write a letter of their own to the current president!

DIANE EICKHOFF (Clarina I. H. Nichols)

ADULT WORKSHOP
Writing about Women

Discover how to research women's roles in history, including the Bleeding Kansas period. Learn how to choose suitable research subjects, examine primary sources, and evaluate secondary sources. Learn how the presenter tracked down new information about Clarina Nichols that has brought this important historical figure back to life.

CHILDREN'S WORKSHOP
All Aboard the Underground Railroad!

Was there an Underground Railroad in Kansas Territory? How was it different from the UGRR in other places? Using maps and other materials, participants will discover the unique role of Kansas in stopping the spread of slavery and in helping slaves escape.

KANSAS STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY ADDITIONAL WORKSHOP
Go Back in Time . . . Online!

Hundreds of personal letters, diaries, and photos from the Bleeding Kansas period are now available online! As part of the extensive collection of the Kansas State Historical Society, these documents and artifacts help tell the story of Kansas settlement. Find out first hand how to use the virtual archives at www.kshs.org to explore territorial timelines and maps, access ready-made lesson plans, read letters from John Brown, and view the nearly 200 photographs available.<-------

Elderhostel is a not for profit organization that is the preeminent provider of high quality, affordable educational opportunities for older adults. Their mission is to provide innovative educational programming for diverse populations of adult seniors throughout the world. Twenty-five to fifty participants will take part. After completing 20 hours of scheduled educational experiences, they are free to shop, rest or participate in other activities in the community. Details: To Be Announced <-------

Description: Youth Chautauqua will be a five-day camp for children in 5th-8th grades to be held in each host community. For three hours each day the Chautauqua tent is in town, participants will research, write, and perform a historical character from the Kansas Territorial time period. Children will become historians, researchers, scriptwriters, costume designers, and actors. The Youth Chautauqua Camp facilitators will work with the participants to choose and appropriate historical character, gather materials for research, weave facts into interesting stories, fashion a costume, and develop a short 3-5 minute presentation. On the last afternoon of Chautauqua, the youth Chautauqua's will perform as their historical character under the Big Tent. Each participant in the Chautauqua camp will receive:

• Detailed instruction on researching and scriptwriting;
• Chance to perform under the big Chautauqua tent.

Also to be provided:

• Historian's toolkit, complete with notebook, pencil, post-it notes, white gloves;
• Certificate of achievement awarded under the big Chautauqua tent <-------

Each evening before the program under the big Chautauqua tent, families will gather to explore and experience activities relating to the theme "Where the Civil War Began."

Learning centers under the Kid-Tauqua tent include:

1. A Native American resource trunk providing activities on the Plains Indians, including a plum seed game, images of a Wichita Tribe Grass Lodge, Pawnee Earth Lodge and Sac and Fox Bark House and coloring pages.
   
   
2. Reproduction copies of abolitionist newspapers will enable children to read firsthand information about the time period. Children can create their own headlines proclaiming Free Kansas with a stamp kit and paper.
   
   
3. A costume corner, complete with a reproduction of Lincoln's hat, and period dresses and suits, will be available for children to try on and have their photo taken.
   
   
4. Children's books about the time period, laminated copies of diary entries and magazine articles illustrating the struggle for Kansas will be available for families to read inside the tent.
   
   
5. A make-your-own Chautauqua coloring book will be a part of a craft table. <-------

Don't forget the main event-the Chautauqua itself. Click here for schedule.

 

Kansas Chautauqua