Bleeding Kansas
Definition: The settlers in the territory that would soon be called Kansas engaged in battles against each other to determine if Kansas would enter the United States as a free or slave state. There were three different political groups fighting amongst each other; proslavery, antislavery, and abolitionist. - (“Bleeding Kansas (U.S. National Park Service)”)
Books
Online Resources
Primary Sources
Diary Letters (Image) (transcript)
Letter from W.J. Patterson (Image) (transcript)
Petition of Sundry Citizens of Pottawatomie Creek (Image) (transcript)
Petition from Leavenworth Women (Image) (transcript)
Secondary Sources
Kansas History: Territorial through Civil War, 1854-1865
National Park Service: Bleeding Kansas
Kansas Historical Society: Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas: A stain on Kansas history
Fort Scott: Bleeding Kansas Conflict
(has primary sources as well)
Don't forget to use the Kansas Library Databases to find more information. Start with Britannica for background information and then Explora to find more secondary sources.