Kansas Territory Traveling Trunk
Seventh and eighth grade lesson plans included.
Available for use with any age.
How bloody was Bleeding Kansas? This trunk explores the excitement that took place in Kansas Territory before statehood in 1861. In the years leading up to the Civil War, Americans looked at Kansas Territory as example of what might happen with the nation as a whole. Would the federal government outlaw slavery in the nation, and what would happen if it did? No one knew for sure, but the creation of Kansas Territory in 1854 gave the citizens of the new territory the right to decide whether they would live in a free state or a slave state. Americans across the country read news reports from “Bleeding Kansas,” the place on the western frontier where conflict between those who wanted slavery, and those who didn't, turned violent.
The variety of materials in this trunk allow users to explore this tumultuous period of Kansas history. A corn-husking peg, John Brown’s surveyors hat, a ballot box, flags from two sides of the conflict, and other artifact reproductions provide hands-on learning opportunities. Read primary sources to identify pieces of propaganda published in the territory. Each of the trunk's five lesson plans is designed to fulfill educational standards in History, Reading and/or Writing for 7th and 8th grades.
Contents of Trunk
Trunk Specifications
Weight: 29 pounds
Dimensions: 24" x 19" x 13"
Insure for $500 when shipping
Reserve this trunk by filling out a Traveling Trunk request form, emailing kshs.education@ks.gov , or calling 785-272-8681, ext. 416.
The Kansas Historical Society developed the Kansas Territory traveling resource trunk with major funding provided by the Kansas State Department of Education.
