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Bleeding Kansas

Definition

Bleeding Kansas is a term used to describe violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory between 1854-1861 over whether or not Kansas would enter the Union as a slave state or free state.

Analogy

Imagine if your school's cafeteria became a battleground because half wanted pizza every day while others wanted burgers. The fights got so intense that it earned your cafeteria an infamous nickname - "Brawling Cafeteria". That's what happened with Kansas; only instead of food preferences, they were fighting over slavery.

Related terms

Kansas-Nebraska Act: An act passed in 1854 allowing settlers in newly organized territories north of Missouri border to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty.

Popular Sovereignty: The principle that people living in a territory should have right to decide by voting if slavery would be allowed within their borders.

John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry: An attempt by white abolitionist John Brown to initiate an armed slave revolt in 1859 by taking over a United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.