Kansas

Kansas
The name of Kansas is derived from the Kansas River which flows through it,
which in turn was named by the French after the Kansa tribe, who inhabited the area.
The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south
wind".
The history of Kansas begins over 1. years ago and when the !uropeans
arriver in the 1"
th
century they found here two types of people# semi$sedentary and
nomadic. The first ones to enter the Kansas region were the %panish through the
e&pedition of Francisco '(s)ue* de +oronado in 1,-1. The %panish were searching
for the wealthy .ingdom of /uivira0gold, silver1,but finding none of the promised
riches, the %panish started to lose interest in the Kansas regions for more the 1,
years.
2n the last decades of the 13
th
century the French started a number of e&peditions
along the 4ississippi claiming all the land including present$day Kansas. 2n this
conditions the %panish, concerned about French activity, sent a troupe there to
reclaim the already occupied territories.This ended up in a series of wares between
the %panish, the French and the 2ndians. 2n 13"5 after the French and 2ndian 6ar, the
last in a series of battles between 7reat 8ritain and France for domination in 9orth
:merica, France lost nearly all its 9orth :merican territory, called the ;ouisiana
Territory. 8ut in 13"< France had secretly ceded all its lands west of the 4ississippi to
%pain, France=s ally in the war. France then regained the land in 1> under another
secret agreement with %pain, and in 1>5 the ?nited %tates ac)uired what is now
Kansas as part of the purchase of the ;ouisiana Territory from France. Kansas, as
part of the ;ouisiana @urchase, was anne&ed to the ?nited %tates in 1>5 as
unorgani*ed territory.
2n the early 1Ath century, white settlers began crossing Kansas to reach the
6est, but only a small number of whites 0fewer than 11 settled in Kansas. :s part
of 2ndian Territory, Kansas remained forbidden to white settlers, e&cept for
missionaries.The whites encouraged by federal laws that allowed them to purchase
the land they lived onBeven if they had occupied the land illegally,started to settle
little by little in Kansas.
9ative :mericans resisted as best they couldC fighting between whites and 9ative
:mericans in western Kansas was hard. 6hites, however, continued to settle in
Kansas and as the demand for land increased in the early 1>,s the ?.%. tried to sign
an act through which to create a 9ebras.a Territory that would include both the
Kansas and 9ebras.a regions. Then, in 1>,-, +ongress passed the Kansas$
9ebras.a :ct, which created separate Kansas and 9ebras.a territories. 2t also
allowed territorial inhabitants to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery in the
territory.
The Kansas$9ebras.a :ct resulted in a struggle between ?.%. citi*ens from
%outhern states who were eager to e&tend slavery into the new territory and those
from 9orthern states who were determined to stop the spread of slavery. The chaos
and violence that mar.ed this period earned the territory the name 8leeding Kansas,
during what was called the 8order 6ar.
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Economic difficulties resulted from a national depression in 1857 and a severe drought in
1859 and 1860. However the discover! of gold in 1858 in the eastern "oc#! $ountains of
present%da! &olorado then in western Kansas 'erritor! (rought prosperit! to some.
'he )on! E*press a mail service (etween +aint ,oseph $issouri and +acramento
&alifornia (egan on -pril . 1860 under the direction of the &entral /verland &alifornia and
)i#e0s )ea# E*press &ompan!. -t that time regular mail service too# up to three wee#s to
cross the continent (ut the )on! E*press carried mail on horse(ac# (etween +aint ,oseph and
+acramento in ten da!s. )on! E*press riders were e*pected to cover 110 #m 275 mi3 a da!.
4illiam 5rederic# &od! who later (ecame a scout and showman #nown as 6uffalo 6ill rode
the )on! E*press which lasted onl! a little more than a !ear (ecause of the completion of the
transcontinental telegraph.
:fter this tumultuous period of war, on Danuary <A,1>"1 Kansas entered the
?nion as the 5-
th
independent state. For this new state of the ?nion a flag,a seal and
a motto were needed.
%o, on 4ay <,, 1>"1, the Kansas %tate ;egislature adopted the state's seal. The
7reat %eal of the %tate of Kansas would have this design# The east is represented by
a rising sun in the right$hand corner of the sealC to the left of it, commerce is
represented by a river and a steamboatC in the foreground, agriculture is represented
as Ethe basis of the future prosperity of the stateF by a settler's cabin and a man
plowing with a pair of horsesC beyond this is a train of o&$wagons going westC in the
bac.ground is a herd of buffalo, retreating, pursued by two 2ndians on horsebac.C
around the top is the motto, ":d astra per aspera," and beneath a cluster of thirty$four
stars. The circle is surrounded by the words, "7reat %eal of the %tate of Kansas
Danuary <A, 1>"1".
The words ":d astra per aspera," are the state's motto, meaning "To the stars
through difficulties" which represents the hard lives of early Kansas pioneers and the
tough battles that Kansas had gone through and won to become the 5-th state.
:lthough the state became part of the ?nion in 1>"1, Kansas adopted the flag only
in 1A<3 and it contains the state seal on a blue field, a sunflower resting on a twisted
blue and gold bar and 8elow the seal in gold bloc. lettering is the name of the state,
"K:9%:%".
Kansas is perhaps one of the states with the most nic.names, is has around 1
nic.names# EThe %unflower %tateF, "The 6heat %atate", "4idway, ?.%.:.", EThe
+yclone %tateF, EThe 7rasshopper %tateF 0nic.named for the 1>3- 7rasshopper
@lague1.The nic.name of "The 7arden %tate," was given to the Kansas because of
the beauty of the landscape and the fertility of the soilC this nic.name may have been
promoted by northern newspapers in attempts to lure people to the territory to
counteract the pro$slavery movement in Kansas.
7n the 1810s and 18.0s missionaries esta(lished the first schools in Kansas to instruct
8ative -mericans in reading writing and &hristianit!. 7n 1855 the first territorial legislature
passed laws providing for free pu(lic schools for the children of white settlers. E9ual
educational opportunities for all regardless of se* or race were guaranteed in the state
constitution that was drawn up in 1859. )u(lic education in Kansas was almost entirel!
supported (! local ta*es until 19.7 when annual state appropriations were authori:ed for
need! elementar! schools. - s!stem of state aid to all elementar! and secondar! schools
regardless of need is now in effect.
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+chool attendance was first made compulsor! in 187; and is now re9uired for all children
in Kansas from the ages of 7 to 18. +ome 9 percent of elementar! and high school students in
the state attend private or parochial institutions. Has#ell 7ndian 8ations <niversit! founded in
=awrence in 188; is maintained as a school for 8ative -merican students.
8ecause of its widely spread 7reat @lains the early settlers earned their living
cultivating the crops. %o Kansas became one of the nation's leading agricultural states
and has long been .nown as "The 6heat %tate." The Kansas agriculture passed
through a good period during the two 6orld 6ars because of the increased demand
of farm products.
:fter 1A,<, however, industry began to contribute more to the economy than did
wheat fields and cattle ranches. ?nder this conditions the population that was still
half rural had to move to the city.The greatest increases in industrial employment
have been in the aircraft, garment, iron and steel, chemical, machinery, and food$
processing industries. 4anufacturing, led by aircraft production, continued to gain
importance in the state=s economy . 'he production of militar! aircraft declined after
the Korean 4ar 21950%195.3 and the >ietnam 4ar 21959%19753 (ut each decline was
accompanied (! increasing production of small civilian aircraft. /ther industries such as
the manufacture of automo(iles and related products li#e tires and (atteries also grew.
8ew manufacturing plants continue to (e (uilt in Kansas. =arge corporate head9uarters
for insurance and communication companies have also found homes in eastern Kansas.
-s a result despite the loss of ?o(s in some historicall! important (usinesses such as
railroading the unemplo!ment rate has remained low in the 1990s.
2t is simply astonishing to see that a state with a maGority rural population, who
earns the every they bread through agriculture can turn its ideas 5" degrees and
stars something so completely different as steel industry and aircraft production.
8ut this actually happened and now 6ichita, the state's largest city, is .nown
locally as the :ir +apital of the 6orld because it produces more general aviation
aircraft than any other city. Kansas is a world leader in aviation, with a large share of
both ?% and world production and sales of commercial aircraft. 6ichita is the home of
8oeing, +essna, ;earGet, and Raytheon, which combined manufactured appro&imately
3H of the world's general aviation aircraft.
The citi*ens of Kansas resent the suggestion that they live in a Ecultural desertF,
but the assertion is at least partially true. 4ost of the larger cities have amateur
theatre groups, while Tope.a and 6ichita support symphony orchestras. 6ichita,
however, has several art museums and a cultural and civic centre with two theatres,
an e&hibition hall, and a convention hall. 2n the mid$1A"s the Kansas :rts
+ommission was formedC funded by the state, it see.s to encourage the development
of the arts, often providing money for communities or organi*ations that want to
develop cultural events. The ?niversity of Kansas has an outstanding museum of
natural history and an art museum. 'he museum of the Kansas +tate Historical +ociet!
houses an e*tensive collection of archaeological relics and materials from the 19th and earl!
10th centuries. 'he societ! also maintains a num(er of the state0s historic sites and
.
monuments. 7n addition there are local historical museums and historic (uildings in a num(er
of Kansas communities The !isenhower +enter at :bilene, boyhood home of the 5-th
?.%. president, has a museum and a library containing the papers and memorabilia of
his presidency and military career.
2n addition to an art museum, the small community of ;indsborg has a biennial
fol. festival, the %vens. Iyllningsfest, which honours the %wedish pioneers who
settled the town. 6ilson has a +*ech festival each year. !&amples of eccentric fol.
sculpture are found in ;ucas, where a self$taught artist, wor.ing in wet concrete,
sculpted his own idea of the 7arden of !den and other biblical stories.
/ther historic sites in Kansas preserve militar! forts used during the westward e*pansion.
5ort =arned 8ational Historic +ite was an outpost esta(lished midwa! along the +anta 5e 'rail
to protect travelers and mail deliveries. 7ts stone (uildings are among the (est%preserved relics
of the western wars with 8ative -mericans.
To the story of EThe 6i*ard of J*F, inspired by the bad weather in Kansas, was
dedicated a museum. %o the city of 6amego is fast approaching the status of "J*
+apital of the 6orld" due to this museum. Jther o*$related businesses in 6amego are
"Toto's Taco*," the "%ci**ors of :hhh*," the coffeehouse "DavJKos," the "!merald
+ity 4ar.et", and the "J* 6inery".
The biggest event is by far the EThe Kansas %tate FairF which is held in
Iutchison, Kansas. The history of the Kansas %tate Fair began early. 2t was first held
in 1>35, and has been growing ever since. The Kansas %tar Fair has gone through a
lot of changes, but one thing has remained certain. 2t is an event that many loo.
forward to every year, and the goal of ma.ing the fair bigger and better every year
seems to be reached, with new and interesting e&hibits, activities and entertainment.
'he first ones to preach the &hristianit! in Kansas were the missionaries that tried to
educate and to convert the 8ative -mericans. )l!mouth &ongregational &hurch the first
church esta(lished after the Kansas 'erritor! was opened to white settlement was organi:ed in
=awrence in 185;. @uring the 1850s when proslaver! and antislaver! factions vied for control
of the Kansas 'erritor! man! church%sponsored antislaver! groups from the 8orth ventured to
Kansas. 'his pursuit for new (elievers continued over the !ears so that the largest religious
groups in Kansas are the "oman &atholics and $ethodists. Each has a(out an e9ual num(er of
adherents.

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