The Portland daily press., 1879-09-17
A Quarter-Centennial,

The celebration of the twenty-ffth ami
versary of the settlement of the town of
Lawrence, Kansas, calls to mind the long
and bloody conflict which was waged be-
tween the slave power and the friends Of
freedom for the control of that State. The
itants, with $4,000 miles of railroad within
its borders, and in the production of corn
and wheat ranks among the foremost States
in the Union. In 1854 Kansas was an un-
broken wilderness, over which the Indians
held undisputed sway. The story of its
settlement by the whites forms one of the
darkest episodes in our National history.
1t was there that the conflict between free
dom and slavery first broke forth into arms,
and on its soil was fought the prelmin-
airy skirmish to the gigantic conflict which a
few years later drenched the whole nation
in blood, and settled for the whole coun-
try the question which the struggle in Kan
sas had settled for & single State.
On the 3Oth of May, 1854, the Kansas
Nebraska bill was signed by President
IlCTCc. IuC ClleCt VI ILLS Ulll was W Icpcttl
the Missouri Compromise of 1920 and to
leave to the people of the Territories named
the settlement of the question whether they
should be free or slave States. Within
few days of the passage of the bill hordes
of border Missourians crossed the Kansas
line and began to preempt the land In the
Northern and Eastern States associations
were soon formed to promote emigration to
Kansas with view of making it free State.
Simultaneously at the South sprang up the
"Blue Lodges ''Sons of the South" and
other kindred societies, bent on capturing it
for the slave power. Emigration began to
pour into the State from the North through
Iowa, and at the same time another stream
was flowing in through Missouri and Ar
kansas from the Southern States. These
two streams met and for five years contended
with one another for the possession of the
State.
Nothing that assassination and proscrip-
ton could do to check the tide of emigration
from the Northern States was left undone
by the minions of the slave power. AT the
formation of the Northern Emigration Aid
Society the squatters on Kansas soil who
bad come from Missouri, resolved that they
would afford no protection to abolitionist
settlers. This manifesto failing TO have the
desired effect the Missouri borderers met at
Westport, Mo-, and resolved to ''hold them
selves in readiness to assist the citizens of
Kansas Territory to remove any and all emil
grants who go there under the auspices Of
the Northern Emigration Aid Society,"" But
this also failed.
The first pioneer party from New England
reached Kansas in July 1854, and came from
Boston. They were followed few days
later by another baud, and together they
founded the present town of Lawrence,
which they named for Amos A. Lawrence,
of Boston, the treasurer of the Society under
whose auspices they went out. The tide OF
emigration from the North from that date
poured steadily in. The pro-slavery party
threatened, plundered, burned and muir
dered and even went so far as to give public
notice in their organ that they would lynch
and hang, tar and feather and drown every
white livered aboltionst who dared to pol
lutte the soil. Lawrence was twice besieged
and burned; and the towns of Leavenworth
and Pottawattomie partially destroyed
Bus all these things failed to check the con-
tinual flow of bands of freemen into the
State, and in the early part of 1859 the
attempt to make Kansas slave State was
formally abandoned and free constitution
was adopted by her people. 1t was during
this conflict that the Republican party was
born and grew into manhood. 1t was Or
ganized in spirit of resistance to the en-
croachments of the slave power. 1t wen its
first victory when the freemen of Kansas
drove back the minions of the slave power
and saved that State to freedom. 1t achieved
its crowning triumph when few years later
it extinguished human slaveryin in every State
in the Union. The men of Kansas gathered
at Lawrence have done something more
than commemorate the founding of a town.
They have celebrated the dawning of the
spirit of liberty which made this nation in
fact, what it was before but in name-a land
Of freedom.