Kansas: The Sunflower State

Kansas: The Sunflower State — page 3
6 KANSAS The state of Kansas was born out of a fierce struggle In the years leading up to the American Civil War Kansas was at the center of the nation’s bitter conflict over slavery In 1854 an act allowed the settlers of the Kansas territory to decide for themselves whether to permit people to own slaves there Groups both for and against slavery flooded the territory with new settlers who often clashed violently Bleeding Kansas became a battleground for the next few years Kansas joined the Union as a non-slaveholding state in 1861 Much of the history and culture of Kansas is linked to its early settlers In the 1800s Kansas was a center of Western frontier life and was populated by homesteaders and outlaws While settlers were farming and raising cattle outlaws with names such as Hurricane Bill were stealing Horses were very important to the early Kansas settlers They were used for transportation industry and recreation The Pony Express a system of mail delivery by carriers on horseback passed through Kansas Kansas official state motto is Ad Astra per Aspera which is Latin for To the Stars Through Difficulties Helium was discovered in 1903 in Dexter The honeybee is the state insect of Kansas The state mammal is the American bison which often is called the buffalo horses and robbing banks Lawmen such as Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok tried to keep the peace There were also often clashes between Native Americans and settlers over territory and land resources In more recent times Kansas has become for many a place of peace and good fortune with rolling fields of wheat and giant sunflowers stretching toward the sun The state is blessed with ample farmland good mineral resources plenty of water and a central location Sunflowers are numerous in Kansas Their seeds are harvested for food and for the oil they contain They are called sunflowers because they twist on their stems to follow the sun throughout the day