Quakers in "Bleeding Kansas"

Abstract

Notes and Documents QUAKERS IN "BLEEDING KANSAS" By Cecil Currey* Pacifism was a noteworthy force among members of the Society of Friends in Kansas for but a few short years. This period of strength began in 1854 when the first Quakers entered the area and came to an end less than fifteen years later, following the end of the Civil War. Those short years were filled with examples of patience, love, and sacrificial giving for others, non-violent resistance , and heroism as Quaker settlers and their families strove both to remain loyal to their faith and to make a place for themselves on the American frontier. Quaker settlers crossed the Missouri River and entered the hill country of eastern Kansas shortly after the passage of the KansasNebraska Act in May, 1854. This famous Congressional act repealed Henry Clay's Missouri Compromise which had provided for the admission of Missouri as a slave state. This had been acceptable to the North only because slavery was prohibited in areas north of parallel 36° 30' (the southern boundary of Missouri). The KansasNebraska Act was pushed through Congress by Stephen A. Douglas. It opened the territories to slavery, for each was allowed to determine its own status: free or slave. A bloody chapter in American history was written as the foes and friends of slavery poured into the newly organized Territory of Kansas. Each faction was determined to strengthen its respective power in Congress by assuring the "proper" attitude toward slavery in Kansas — the territory most likely to become the next state. Members of the Society of Friends, long antagonistic to the traffic in men's bodies, felt that they could do much to influence the issue's outcome by political and moral force. The promise of good, cheap farmland gave Quakers a second excellent reason for moving into the territory. The first Quaker settler in Kansas Territory was * Cecil Currey is Pastor of the First Congregational Church in Ashland, Nebraska. He has made a study of Quaker pacifism in Kansas. 96 Notes and Documents97 George M. Harvey, who staked his claim on Dragoon Creek, near Leavenworth, in June of 1854. A short time later, his brother, father, and their families joined George. In the fall two more Quaker families "settled up" claims nearby. During Indiana Yearly Meeting in October, 1854, three Friends decided to explore Kansas for suitable farmland. They visited the Territory and in 1855 took up claims on Stranger Creek, near the present-day town of Springdale, Kansas.1 These early Friends did not believe in force of arms. Although abolitionists, they willingly settled in localities where "niggerlovers " were in constant danger. They carried no weapons, for they believed that an attitude of non-resistance, staunch ideals, and arts of kindness toward both pro-slavers and free staters would protect them better than armed force. The Quakers hoped that this witness , coupled with their votes, would aid Kansas to become a free state. The first Quaker families quickly became known to the proslavers through Joel Hiatt. Hiatt was an ex-Quaker who had dropped out of the Society in previous years. Although he moved in proslavery circles, he did his best to safeguard the Friends by circulating the information that they were a "harmless" people. Hiatt informed the slavers that Quakers were peaceable and would be obedient to the law regardless of their own personal feelings and would never interfere with another man's "niggers."2 This defense of his old faith may have reawakened his ideals, for at a later period Hiatt rejoined the Society and remained a loyal member until his death. An election in Kansas Territory under the free-soil Topeka Constitution was scheduled for January 15, 1856. Shortly before it was to be held, attempts were made to intimidate those against slavery. A group of pro-slavers calling themselves the "Kickapoo Rangers" decided to raid the farms of settlers living on Fall and Stranger Creeks. The Rangers felt that the resultant terror and demoralization would cause the election to fail. Many Quakers lived athwart the proposed line of march of the Kickapoo Rangers. A free-soil rider galloped through the night, warning the Friends to arm themselves...