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Lydiac8715
Lydiac8715
28.05.2021 • 
English

2. Read this small excerpt on the buildup to the Civil War in the 1860s. In an attempt to win the cause in Kansas, settlers both pro and anti-slavery began pouring into the state, hoping to influence the decision in their favor. Slaveholders flooded into Kansas from neighboring Missouri, crossing over to vote in elections and influence the government. Likewise, settlers from farther east entered the territory, hoping to create a free state; further, most Kansans were opposed to slavery. As the two sides came together in Kansas, violence seemed inevitable. Violence actually broke out on the floor of the United States Senate when South Carolina Senator Preston Brooks savagely beat Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner with his cane. The beating only ended when Brooks broke his thick cane on Sumner’s body. Soon after, the violence spilled over into the general populace of the state. Slavery advocates were known as border ruffians, as they often used intimidation and violence in an attempt to shape the politics of the territory. Abolitionists were often referred to as "Jayhawkers" and represented the majority anti-slavery population. In 1856, a civil war began in Kansas known as Bleeding Kansas, many people were killed. It began on May 24 when John Brown led an attack on a group of border ruffians, savagely murdering four men. Their actions were inspired by the pro-slavery minority’s control of the state government, and throughout the summer of 1856 Jayhawkers continued attacking and murdering supporters of slavery. Border ruffians soon responded, launching their own skirmishes against free staters. The fighting continued until 1859 with nearly 60 men being killed in the fighting. The outrage and animosity caused by the issue divided the nation into two distinct camps. The betrayal in repealing the provisions of the Missouri Compromise pushed the nation to the brink of civil war. Though the fighting had been calmed in Kansas, the issues were far from resolved, and the situation was only worsened when the de facto repeal of the Missouri Compromise was formalized by the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott Case of 1857.

After reading this excerpt, write a short thesis statement defending George Washington's Farewell Address, linking your arguments with the claims of George Washington.
Be sure to include the following in your

Who the two factions were in Kansas
At least two ways in which their actions confirmed the concerns of Washington

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