The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created
the Kansas Territory and opened it
to white settlement. The law left it up to
the settlers to decide whether they
wanted Kansas to become a free (antislavery)
state or a slave state. Slavery supporters
established settlements at
Atchison and Leavenworth. Antislavery
groups founded Topeka and Lawrence.
The two sides soon battled, and the
fighting earned the territory the name
Bleeding Kansas.
Kansas joined the Union in 1861 as a
free state. In the years after the American
CivilWar, Kansas became part of the
frontier region called the OldWest.
Cowboys drove their cattle to such
towns as Dodge City and Abilene. After
the cattle boom ended in the 1880s,
wheat farming became critical to the
region. By 1900 most of the farmland
had been taken over by settlers.
During the 1930s Kansas went through
a severe drought. The state became part
of what was known as the Dust Bowl as
the drought ruined much of the farmland.
As a result, many farmers and
workers could not make a living. About
80,000 people left the state during this
time.
In the 1940s, however, many people
came to Kansas to work in the aircraft
plants ofWichita. Since the 1940s Kansas
has experienced a slow but steady
growth in population.
..More to explore
American CivilWar • Dust Bowl • Kaw
• Topeka
The Arkansas River flows through Wichita,
Kansas.
Facts About
KANSAS
Flag
Population
(2000 census)
2,688,418—
rank, 32nd state;
(2008 estimate)
2,802,134—
rank, 33rd state
Capital
Topeka
Area
82,277 sq mi
(213,096 sq
km)—rank, 15th
state
Statehood
January 29,
1861
Motto
Ad Astra Per
Aspera (To the
Stars Through
Difficulties)
State bird
Western
meadowlark
State flower
Native sunflower
48 Kansas BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Kansas-Nebraska
Act
A law called the Missouri Compromise
of 1820 ruled out slavery in the United
States north of Missouri’s southern border.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854
made it possible again. This angered
abolitionists, or people who wanted to
end slavery. It led to violence in Kansas,
where people fought and killed each
other over the issue of slavery. The fighting
brought the United States closer to
the American CivilWar.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act created
Kansas and Nebraska as territories. The
act allowed the people of each territory
to decide whether or not to allow
slavery.
Nebraska stayed fairly calm, but Kansas
did not. People who supported slavery
poured into Kansas from Missouri. They
voted to allow slavery in 1855. Abolitionists
came to Kansas from the Northern
states. They did not think the vote
in favor of slavery was legal. They held
their own vote and set up another government.
The town of Lawrence was an abolitionist
center. On May 21, 1856, a proslavery
mob attacked the town. Three days
later abolitionists led by John Brown
struck back and killed five men. Over
the next few years both sides made many
violent attacks. The territory became
known as Bleeding Kansas.
The people of Kansas voted against a
proslavery constitution in 1858. By this
time most of the people were against
slavery. Kansas was admitted to the
United States as a free state on January
29, 1861.
#More to explore
American CivilWar • Brown, John
• Kansas • Nebraska • Slavery
Karakoram
Range
The Karakoram Range is a group of
mountains in central Asia. They lie
northwest of the Himalayan mountain
system. Very few people live near the
Karakorams. Even so, much of the land
is claimed by more than one country.
The Karakorams cover parts of
Afghanistan, China, India, Pakistan,
and Tajikistan.
An illustration shows men lining up to vote
on the issue of slavery in Kansas Territory.
In 1855 voters chose to allow slavery.
K2 is the only
one of the
Earth’s
10 highest
mountains that
is not in the
Himalayas.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Karakoram Range 49
A Karakoram peak called K2 is the
second-highest mountain in the world.
K2 is 28,251 feet (8,611 meters) high. It
is partly in China and partly in territory
that Pakistan controls.
The Karakorams are mostly dry. But the
region has glaciers (ice sheets) that feed
several rivers, including the Indus River
of south Asia
Kathmandu
Population
(2001 census)
671,846
Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal, a
country in South Asia. The city lies in a
high valley where two rivers meet. It is
surrounded by the Himalaya Mountains.
Kathmandu is by far the largest
city in Nepal. It is also a cultural center.
There are several famous Buddhist
monuments in the Kathmandu valley.
One of the most famous is the whitedomed
Bodhnath Stupa.
Kathmandu is Nepal’s center of business
and transportation. Tourism is also
important to the economy. Factories in
the city make such products as processed
foods and clothing.
A king founded Kathmandu in 723. At
first the city’s name was Manju-Patan.
Then in the 1500s, another king is said
to have built a temple in the city from
the wood of a single tree. To honor this
event the city was named Kathmandu,
meaning “wooden temple.” In 1769 a
Durbar Square lies at the center
of Kathmandu’s historic district.
Around the square are temples,
monuments, colorful shops, and
bustling streets.
The mountain K2 got its name because it
