Follow the Bloody Brick Road: Bleeding Kansas and the Emancipation Proclamation

To help illuminate Balkin’s project of Memory and Authority, this brief Essay considers a slice of American memory from Kansas’ historical archives and other primary sources, and examines its unique role in the Civil War. Specifically, it excavates the influence of Kansas’ leaders as advisors to President Abraham Lincoln. Prior to and during the Civil War, Lincoln relied upon the guidance of senior leaders from Kansas on matters ranging from guarding the White House, war strategies, the recruitment of former enslaved persons to the war effort, and the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation as a part of an effective war mobilization campaign. This process of examining these tensions—idealism and realism—through first-person narrative further unmasks interferences and obstacles to fulfilling fundamental constitutional aspirations, such as the compromises and conflicts that gave rise to the Civil War. This Essay proceeds in three Parts. Part I excavates the memory of Isaac Goodnow, one of the founders of Manhattan, Kansas, and Kansas State University, and his relationship with Lincoln. It contextualizes the bond between Goodnow and Lincoln within the historical era referred to as “Bleeding Kansas” or “Bloody Kansas.” Bleeding Kansas describes years of bloodshed resulting from violent conflicts between warring anti-slavery and pro-slavery factions within Kansas and at the Kansas-Missouri border. Part II discusses the memory of Senator James Lane, the first Kansas Senator, and Lincoln’s reliance on Lane’s counsel during the Civil War. Part III explores historical records and memories of Lincoln and Kansas, and the Emancipation Proclamation. This abstract has been taken from the author's introduction.