Lecompton, Kansas Historic Sites
Join me on a visit to Lecompton, Kansas!
Constitution Hall State Historic Site:
Lane University & Territorial Capital Museum:
Battle of Fort Titus:
Democratic Headquarters:
Lecompton, Kansas:
Visit Lecompton, Kansas!
Lecompton, Kansas has a lot to offer! Museums, historic sites, shopping, eating, beautiful scenery! Capital of Kansas during territorial days 1855-1861. This video was made in the Fall of 2013--we have even more here in town since the video was made!
First Territorial Capitol of Kansas
I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (
Around Kansas - Lane University Christmas Exhibit - Nov. 11, 2015
(Frank) Back again. (Deb) Back again. And we want to take you over to Lecompton, of course, one of my favorite places. The territorial capital and as you were saying November, such great month to get out and see stuff, because the weather's not too bad yet. And it's a little on the cool side. So, it's a great time to go out to Lecompton. They've got the two museums out there and this segment is going to be about one of 'em. But what were you about to say Frank? (Frank) Well, I mean yea, Lecompton itself, because there's a recreational part of the river there. There are a lot of people that go there and canoe and kayak and all that. And of course, it's the place where there are a bunch of bald eagles that roost there along the bank. So, it's a beautiful place to go see and also learn some history about the state of Kansas. (Deb) Learn some history and you've got the State Historic Site there, Constitution Hall, that's going to be celebrating a major anniversary in 2016. And you've got of course, Lane University where Eisenhower's parents met. And Lane University's got a fantastic exhibit going on and that's what this next segment is about. You are going to love this. So, you've got to put this one down on your calendar to take advantage of. Get over to Lecompton. They've got a nice little cafe that's open there on Main Street now, which is
wonderful. And then over in Perry, just across the river, you've got a little pizza place and there's places over there. So, you can find a place to get out, walk around, enjoy the history, and enjoy nature. You gotta go see it. An enthusiastic crowd assembled at the Riverfront Park in Atchison. It's already looking a lot like Christmas at Lane University in Lecompton. Volunteers have spent hundreds of hours decorating 40 trees with thousands of ornaments, many of them historic, many of them donated by the local families. Paul Bahnmaier, president of the Lecompton Historical Society, showed me through the boxes and cartons of decorations that gave the appearance of Santa's workshop rather than a history museum. As Paul pointed out, though, there is history in the ornaments and trees, too. He opened the glass case in which the fragile feather tree is displayed. Like many Christmas traditions, including the Christmas tree itself, the feather tree has its origins in Germany. There were made in the 1880s and 1890s from a center dowel with dyed green goose feathers forming the branches. Many of the fragile glass ornaments are light as a feather and come from Germany as well. Other ornaments are Scandinavian or Czech. The variety of Christmas trees ranges from tiny tabletop vintage trees, including brush trees from the 1940s, a small, pink Barbie tree, and the 15-foot cedar that is the focal point of the chapel upstairs. Volunteers estimate there are at least 5 thousand ornaments used to decorate the trees but add that the number increases because donations continue to come to the museum. This exhibit was very successful last year and the Lecompton Historical Society anticipates large crowds for this one. Group tours are welcome. The exhibit opened November 1 and will be open through New Year's Day. Lane University was originally intended to be the state capitol and when that honor went to Topeka instead, the building was finished and turned into a university. Kansas senator Jim Lane pledged funds for the school and it was named in his honor. It is now the home and museum of the Lecompton Historical Society.
Around Kansas - State and National Historical Sites in KS - Nov. 18, 2015
(Deb) Welcome back and Frank and I are always encouraging you to get out and see the state and there's so much to see and do of course. And again, following up on a theme of what to get people for Christmas, there are memberships available at the friends' groups that support a lot of our state and national historic sites. But there's a few in particular I wanted to share with you today. And the Parks and Tourism asked me to write a blog for them a while back and we'll share that link for you. They wanted me to name my ten favorite sites and I thought, well that's the way to make enemies, you know, win friends and influence people. So, what I did was preface what I wrote about by saying if it's a state site or if it's a national site, it's so designated for a good reason. And those are places that you just ought to see. Period. So, with that being said, what's your favorite state or national site? (Frank) Oh boy... (Deb) What's one you love to go see? (Frank) Well I think, the Tall Grass Prairie. (Deb) Oh yea. (Frank) I mean it's a beautiful, beautiful place. It's been well preserved. And you can go there and just kind of spend a couple hours or you can go there and actually spend a week if you want because of all the hiking and camping trails and all that. And any time of the year is a good time to go there because it changes with the seasons. So, Tall Grass Prairie, I think is...now that's a national site... (Deb) It's beautiful. (Frank) It's a beautiful place. (Deb) It's beautiful. When my sister came out to visit a few years ago, that's one of the places I took her to because it so much exemplifies the prairie and that era, when the farmhouse was built there. So that's a beautiful, beautiful site. Now, one of my favorite state sites is the Pawnee Indian site, in Republic County, because it's on an actual site of an Indian Village. It's so unique. It's one that is sort of off the beaten path So, a lot of people don't pass it every day. You have to sort of be on your way to get there. But that's one, everybody's got to see that one at some point. So, let's take a look at a few others. The story of Kansas is interpreted through dozens of historic sites around the state. Each tells one piece of the story whether it is westward expansion, the struggle for statehood, or the rich and varied cultures that have called Kansas home. There are four National Park Service sites: Forts Scott and Larned, Brown V Board, and Nicodemus. In addition, the Tallgrass Prairie Natural Preserve celebrates the grassland ecosystem of the Great Plains. Five nationally recognized trails cross Kansas: the Santa Fe , with more miles in Kansas than any other state; the Pony Express; the Oregon; the California; and Lewis and Clark. Signage and sites along the way, in addition to pre-recorded audio tours, are available for the explorer. The Kansas State Historical Society administers several sites including its museum and the newly restored statehouse. They are Constitution Hall in Lecompton, Fort Hays, Grinter Place, Hollenberg Station, Kaw Mission, Shawnee Indian Mission, Pawnee Indian Museum, Red Rocks, Home of William Allen White, and Mine Creek Battlefield. Self-guided sites are Iowa and Sac & Fox Mission, Pawnee Rocks, and Marais des Cygnes Massacre site. Partner sites are Cottonwood Ranch, the First Territorial Capital, Goodnow House, and the John Brown Museum. Merely listing these names gives you an idea of the variety of eras and stories represented at each of these places. Many of them have Friends Organizations and gift shops. Support those with your dollars. Take the kids. Take the grandkids. Pick up a National Park Service passport and encourage your family to begin collecting the stamps from across the nation, Kansas first. Often, we plan trips to experience something new when we haven't even experienced what we have here at home. Click your heels and repeat, There's no better history than in Kansas, There's no better history than in Kansas, there's no better history than in Kansas! (Frank) Gee, we're out of time again. So well, I'm Frank. (Deb) I'm still Deb. (Frank) And we'll see you, somewhere... (Both) Around Kansas.
Around kansas - Lecompton Lecture Series - January 27, 2016
(Frank) And we're back again. You know, I know you're going to talk about Lecompton but I like to go to Lecompton because it's really beautiful over there. And of course, by the river, that's where the bald eagles nest as well. But I have tried to imagine if Lecompton had actually become the state capital, how it would really look? (Deb) You wouldn't be able to find a parking space, would you? (Frank) Yea, right. But I mean, think about it, because it's nestled there kind of just off of the Kansas River. And you look at that and you go, OK well where would they have put the capitol? (Deb) And of course, Lane University was going to be the capitol, so but the parking lot would have extended to the river I bet. And the little democratic headquarters down there on the river, they would have bulldozed that because they would have had to put up a parking lot. So, maybe it's all for the best that it didn't work out. And Constitution Hall, Old Constitution Hall, the state historic site, yea they would have torn that down because they would have needed to put up a state office building. So, probably best that it didn't become the state capital. We've got a better, got it preserved better anyway because of that. (Frank) Yea. So, anyway, so Lecompton this weekend some pretty exciting things that are going to be going on. (Deb) This is the, kicks off the 20th anniversary of their lecture series. And this lecture series is so well attended I don't know if mine will be, but there can be an inch of ice on the road and honest to gosh, people come from 50 miles. It is standing room only. So, get there early. It starts at 2 for the next six Sundays, I think that's right. Yea, all four in February and then the last Sunday of January and first Sunday of March. So, the next six Sundays but get there early because you gotta scramble to get a seat and people stay and they ask questions and it's the most involved audience you'll ever find. And it's such a mixture. You've got real historians. You've just got the local folks who just care and may or may not be knowledgeable on particular topics, but they're all interested. And Tim Rues, I have to give a shout out to Tim Rues from McCracken, Kansas, who is the site administrator at Constitution Hall who gives above and beyond the call of duty. He just gives his heart and soul to that place. And God bless him. And of course Paul Bahnmaier with the Lecompton Historical Society who has just made that town, had really put it, kept it on the map. (Frank) And remember Lecompton was not the Free State Capital. (Deb) No it was not. (Frank) So, anyway (Deb) Lecompton, where slavery began to die. I think that's the new slogan. So, yea, let's take a look at the Lecompton Lecture series. Tim Rues is the only site director that Constitution Hall State Historic Site has had since it was dedicated in 1995. Obviously, he has been doing an historic job. Tim grew up in McCracken, a close-knit, rural town southwest of Hays. Before coming to Lecompton, he was working in Territorial Capitol on the post at Fort Riley. When the Lecompton State Historical Site was dedicated, Tim asked Iona Spencer, local genealogist to research how many families were still in the area that traced their roots back to Territorial and Civil War days. There were more than 30 names. For folks in Lecompton, said Tim, this is not just heritage but a family legacy. In 1997, Tim began a lecture series in Constitution Hall. He wanted to see the building used the way it was intended - as a meeting hall. The response has snowballed, according to Tim, and has constantly drawn crowds from both sides of the border. This year's series marks the 20th annual. Running six Sundays, from January 31 to March 6. Presenters include Aaron Barnhardt, Avery Munns, Ian Spurgeon, Monica Davis, Jan Elder, Dr. Carl Graves and Professor Antonio de la Cova. Rarely does one find a community so passionate about preserving its history. Tim credits Paul Bahnmaier, President of the Lecompton Historical Society, for providing the leadership that has rallied behind historic causes for decades. Tim credits the community for making not only this lecture series a success, but all of the projects that are undertaken by the State Historic Site or Lane University Museum. For a time, Lecompton was my home and I am so proud to be the speaker who kicks off the 20th annual Bleeding Kansas lecture series on January 31st. Hope to see you all there!(Deb) Well, we've had an historic morning haven't we? (Frank) An historic, yes, yes, yes. So, anyway...well we have to go, but we'll be back next week at this time, so I'm Frank. (Deb) I'm Deb. (Frank) And we'll see you somewhere... (Both) …Around Kansas.
Classic Christmas trees in Lecompton, Kansas
Mary Miller and Cheri Miller, both of Overland Park, look over some of the 40 decorated Christmas trees at the Territorial Capital Museum, 640 E. Woodson Ave., in Lecompton, Kansas.
(Video by Richard Gwin/Lawrence Journal-World)
Around Kansas - 2016 AASLH Award of Merit Winner - August 31, 2016
(Frank) Are you going to say, We're back or what? (Deb) We're back. (Frank) We're back. (Deb) We're back, and we want to give a shout out, today, to Lecompton. Historic Lecompton, of course, is one of our sponsors. There's always something great going on in Lecompton, and we appreciate their supporting our show. If you'd like to support our show too, you can just get in touch with us and go to our website, find us on Facebook, whatever. Just let us know. We'd love to have you here too. There's one of our fans now. Ross Freeman, who's the proprietor of this establishment. See, a few more like him and the Emmy would be ours, Frank. It would be ours. Back to people who really won an award-- (Frank) Well, Lecompton not only is historic but there along the river, it is a recreational area. That's where bald eagles also nest. It's something else to go and see over in Lecompton. (Deb) There's so much, and now that they've got the restaurant open and the shops, it's just—I cannot say enough good about Lecompton. (Frank) The thing is, though, I know I'm strange but, times that I go to visit Lecompton I kind of look around and say this could have been the capital of Kansas. (Deb) Almost was. (Frank) Okay, so it's a very small town now, but what if the capital was over there, I don’t know. (Deb) Almost was. (Frank) It's just my little strange mind that goes, I can't imagine, had this become the capital, what it would look like? (Deb) Yes, and it almost was the capital. We are so proud of the folks in Lecompton. Let’s take a look at what they've done. (Frank) The American Association for State and Local History has announced that Sandy Gantz, 4th grade teacher in the Perry-Lecompton School District, along with her school colleagues and Lecompton's museums, are the recipients of the prestigious Award of Merit for 4th Graders' QR Codes for Historic Lecompton Walking Tour. Sandy received a grant from Thrivent Life Insurance Company and contacted Constitution Hall, operated by Kansas Historical Society, and the Territorial Capital Museum, operated by the Lecompton Historical Society. At the beginning of the project, school buses took the students on a tour of the town with museum staff and volunteers providing the narration. The students explored and photographed the sites. Fifteen volunteers from the community were gathered to go to the school once a week for 6 weeks to help the kids do research on the15 different sites to be included on the Walking Tour. The students with their community volunteers researched by interviewing locals, searching period newspapers, and reading articles. The students produced a 1-3 minute video on the history of their assigned site. They also designed artwork in the shape of quilt blocks to identify their site, and put a QR code at each site so that visitors to the town could easily access the videos with their smartphones. The walking tour with a map and scavenger hunt was printed and distributed to local businesses. The grant Sandy received paid for the QR code signs and map printing. The project debuted in 2015 during Territorial Days, the town’s yearly June celebration when residents and visitors come to Lecompton for a parade, reenactments, festivities, and food. This year the only award presented in Kansas was to our Lecompton project. Presentation of the awards will be made in Detroit, Michigan, this September. Receiving the award for Lecompton will be Rev. Bob Dulin and his wife Alrutha of Detroit. Rev. Dulin is a life member of the Lecompton Historical Society and a 1959 graduate of the Lecompton High School.
Bleeding Kansas Series: The Kansas Statehouse
A series of talks and dramatic interpretations on the violent conflict over the slavery issue in Kansas Territory 1854 - 1861. January 25 - “The Kansas Statehouse Restoration” - Barry Greis, statehouse architect. Remarks by Matt Veatch, state archivist, Kansas Historical Society. This program is a Kansas Day commemoration. Constitution Hall State Historic Site, Lecompton.
Around Kansas Opening Chat November 13, 2019
Good Wednesday morning. I'm Deb Goodrich, welcome to Around Kansas. Hope you're having a great day wherever you are around Kansas. Been a pretty busy November and of course, we just had Veterans' Day. I think here at Around Kansas, we might just celebrate Veterans' Day every day this month. How about you?
They had the commemoration at Leavenworth, of course, before but the city of Leavenworth has the oldest Veterans' Day celebration west of the Mississippi River, and I think the biggest anywhere. It is Native American History Month, so later on in this show, my partner in so many historic crimes, co-author on the 'Forts and Bases' book, Michelle Martin. I think I'm just going to make Michelle a regular contributor to Around Kansas because she does so much cool stuff, has so many cool things to say and is just so knowledgeable and even though she is not living in Kansas right now, she knows Kansas history really well.
Now, Michelle and I are very excited to be part of the Historical Lecompton lecture series that happens in the late winter at Constitution Hall State Historic Site in Lecompton run by our very dear friend Tim Rues. I believe if all goes well, they are going to kick off January 26, with Governor Laura Kelly, then I'll be speaking in the middle of the month and Michelle has the last program in March. We'll share that with you and make sure you go out and visit Lecompton over the holiday season.
Thanksgiving begins the tree festival at the Territorial Capital Museum just a couple blocks away from the State Historic Site. Lecompton has got so much to offer. It's one of our favorite small towns and I believe it was voted the most popular small town in Kansas couple years ago. So you go over there and tell them hello and you tell them Deb from Around Kansas sent you over.
We have, again, so many things going on this month. The holiday season, of course, is kicking off, and that means lots of travel. When you are traveling around the state be sure to be careful, watch for deer. I know that we have talked about that before on some of our wildlife segments but the deadliest animal we have in Kansas and all over is Bambi unfortunately and so keep your eyes out for deer.
Stop at the Western Kansas Wildlife Travel Center if you get tired and need a cup of coffee to keep you going, need a hot meal, need to fuel up. Just make sure to make some regular stops along the way. Get out and stretch your legs and wake up and be safe on your travels.
We have so many things that are seasonal like our friends at the Butterfield Trail Museum are closed for the winter but at Fort Wallace, we are on winter hours that we're open all year round, we will be on winter hours, so make sure and check some of those sites as you're traveling and you can figure out which of those small museums you could stop at.
It's a great break for you and the kids again, to get out and stretch your legs and maybe see something that you haven't seen before and drop a little something in the collection box while you're there. That's always appreciated. Takes a lot to keep these sites going and know they much appreciate it, to buy something in the gift shop. No better place to shop for Christmas than those little gift shops at your local museums and at the Historical Society. Support your local businesses. Local, wherever local is. Shop local.
Well, we've got a great show for you today. I am so excited to be here with you this
Why Kansas Hates Missouri | State Rivalries
Here is why Kansans and Missourians have a long history of hating each other. This is the first episode of a new series planned with The Cynical Historian examining different state rivalries. This episode's companion piece, why New Mexico hates Texas, can found on his channel here:
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Produced by Matt Beat. Music by Electric Needle Room (Matt Beat). All images and footage either by Matt Beat, found in the public domain, or used under fair use guidelines.
Sources:
Earle, Johnathan. Bleeding Kansas, Bleeding Missouri: The Long Civil War on the Border. University Press of Kansas, 2013.
Etcheson, Nicole. Bleeding Kansas - Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era. University Press of Kansas, 2004
Goodrich, Thomas (1992). Bloody Dawn: The Story of the Lawrence Massacre. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press. pp. 4–6.
Pringle, Heather (April 2010). DIGGING THE SCORCHED EARTH. Archaeology. 63 (2): 21.
Reece, Richard. Bleeding Kansas. ABDO Publishing, 2012.
So why does Kansas hate Missouri?
It all started with one of the worst laws in American history- The Kansas-Nebraska Act. By the 1850s, many Americans were illegally moving to what would become Kansas. Most of them came for that sweet, cheap, farmland, ignoring the earlier promises to give much of the area to Native Americans who had previously been pushed out of their homes back east. After talks picked up about building a transcontinental railroad through the area, Congress went to work trying to come up with a law to make Kansas a territory and give it the infrastructure it needed to allow settlement. It wasn’t easy. You see, there was the slavery issue. Americans were divided-go figure- about the expansion of slavery out west. According to the Missouri Compromise, passed back in 1820, any new territory created north of the 36°30’ parallel and west of Missouri couldn’t have slavery. So Missouri would be the last slave state north of 36-30. However, pro-slavery folks felt if Kansas was a territory it should also have slavery since they weren’t getting slavery in the desert southwest.
Pro-slavery and anti-slavery members of Congress passionately debated the issue. Finally, in 1854, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas came up with another compromise, that crappy law I brought up earlier- The Kansas-Nebraska Act. Congress barely passed it, and President Franklin Pierce signed it into law on May 30, 1854. It created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It got rid of that 36-30 line of the Missouri Compromise, and it established popular sovereignty in both territories to solve the slavery issue. In other words, it allowed the settlers to decide whether or not to have slavery in both territories. I know, what could go wrong, right?
Well a lot went wrong in Kansas. Remember, Missouri was a slave state. Within days of the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, hundreds of pro-slavery Missourians crossed the border into Kansas territory claiming land. They organized and plotted ways to politically influence the region. 11 days after the Act passed, Missourians put together a meeting at Salt Creek Valley, just west of Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, creating the Squatter’s Claim Association, and calling for people to sacrifice their lives by settling in Kansas to ensure it became a slave state.
Not to be outdone, the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company organized in uh, yeah, Massachusetts, an abolitionist hotbed, to help settlers move to Kansas to make sure it became a free state. It sent its first 29 settlers on July 29th, 1854.
Christmas! Perry Lecompton High School Singers perform
Perry Lecompton High School Singers perform for the elementary school at the Territorial Capital Museum. 2014
StoryCorps: Fort Scott National Historic Site
Retired site historian Arnold Schofield talks with friend, and National Park Service volunteer and former seasonal ranger, Robert Skip Thomas. They share their memories of working at Fort Scott National Historic Site in Kansas and its importance as a historical site.
Schuyler Colfax | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Schuyler Colfax
00:02:19 1 Early life
00:03:51 2 Newspaper editor
00:04:37 3 Marriages and family
00:05:18 4 Whig Party delegate
00:05:48 5 Beta Theta Pi
00:06:08 6 US Representative (1855–69)
00:06:53 6.1 Know Nothing party affiliation
00:07:35 6.2 Opposition to slavery
00:08:04 6.3 Civil War
00:08:13 6.3.1 Visiting Frémont in St. Louis
00:11:18 6.3.2 Elected Speaker of the House
00:11:37 6.3.3 Announcing passage of Thirteenth Amendment
00:12:09 6.4 Reconstruction
00:12:18 6.4.1 Western travels
00:12:54 6.4.2 Addressing political situation
00:13:56 6.5 Election of 1868
00:14:34 7 Vice president (1869–1873)
00:15:26 7.1 Italian unity
00:16:14 7.2 Election of 1872
00:17:33 7.3 Crédit Mobilier scandal (1872–1873)
00:20:15 8 Lecturer and business executive
00:21:40 9 Declined to run for office (1882)
00:22:31 10 Death and burial
00:23:20 11 Historical reputation
00:26:01 12 Media portrayals
00:26:26 13 Odd Fellows: founder of Rebekah Degree
00:27:00 14 Publications
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Schuyler Colfax Jr. (; March 23, 1823 – January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician from Indiana. He served as a United States Representative (1855–69), Speaker of the House of Representatives (1863–69), and the 17th Vice President of the United States (1869–73). To date, he is one of only two Americans (John Nance Garner is the other) to have served as both House speaker and vice president.
Colfax was known for his opposition to slavery while serving in Congress, and was a founder of the Republican Party. In January 1865, as Speaker of the House, Colfax made the unusual choice to cast a vote for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. (Speakers are able to vote on House motions but, by convention, rarely do so.) After winning the presidential election of 1868, Ulysses S. Grant and Colfax, at ages 46 and 45, were the youngest Presidential ticket elected in the 19th Century. Believing Grant would only serve one term, in 1870 Colfax attempted unsuccessfully to garner support for the 1872 presidential nomination by telling friends and supporters he would not seek a second vice presidential term. Grant ran again, and Colfax reversed himself and attempted to win the vice presidential nomination, but was defeated by Henry Wilson. In January 1871, Colfax encouraged a unified Italy to adopt a republican government that protected religious freedom and civil rights of its citizens.
An 1873 Congressional investigation into the Crédit Mobilier scandal named Colfax as one of the members of Congress (mostly Republicans) who in 1868 were offered (and possibly took) payments of cash and discounted stock from the Union Pacific Railroad in exchange for favorable action during the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Colfax left the vice presidency at the end of his term in 1873 and never again ran for office. Afterwards he worked as a business executive and became a popular lecturer and speech maker.
Colfax died in Mankato, Minnesota, on January 13, 1885, while changing trains as he was en route to Rock Rapids, Iowa, to give a speech.
Abraham Lincoln | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Abraham Lincoln
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the U.S. through the American Civil War, its bloodiest war and perhaps its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. In doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy.
Born in Hodgenville, Kentucky, Lincoln grew up on the western frontier in Kentucky and Indiana. Largely self-educated, he became a lawyer in Illinois, a Whig Party leader, and was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives, in which he served for eight years. Elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1846, Lincoln promoted rapid modernization of the economy and opposed the Mexican–American War.
After a single term, he returned to Illinois and resumed his successful law practice. Reentering politics in 1854, he became a leader in building the new Republican Party, which had a statewide majority in Illinois. As part of the 1858 campaign for US Senator from Illinois, Lincoln took part in a series of highly publicized debates with his opponent and rival, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas; Lincoln spoke out against the expansion of slavery, but lost the race to Douglas.
In 1860, Lincoln secured the Republican Party presidential nomination as a moderate from a swing state, though most delegates originally favored other candidates. Though he gained very little support in the slaveholding states of the South, he swept the North and was elected president in 1860.
Though there were attempts to bridge the differences between North and South, ultimately Lincoln's victory prompted seven southern slave states to secede from the United States and form the Confederate States of America before he moved into the White House. U.S. troops refused to leave Fort Sumter, a fort located in Charleston, South Carolina, after the secession of the Southern States.
The resulting Confederate attack on Fort Sumter inspired the North to rally behind the Union. As the leader of the moderate faction of the Republican Party, Lincoln confronted Radical Republicans, who demanded harsher treatment of the South; War Democrats, who rallied a large faction of former opponents into his camp; anti-war Democrats (called Copperheads), who despised him; and irreconcilable secessionists, who plotted his assassination.
Lincoln fought back by pitting his opponents against each other, by carefully planned political patronage and by appealing to the American people with his powers of oratory. His Gettysburg Address became an iconic endorsement of nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. He suspended habeas corpus, leading to the controversial Ex parte Merryman decision, and he averted potential British intervention by defusing the Trent Affair.
Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of generals, including his most successful general, Ulysses S. Grant. He made major decisions on Union war strategy, including a naval blockade that shut down the South's trade. As the war progressed, his complex moves toward ending slavery included the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863; Lincoln used the U.S. Army to protect escaped slaves, encouraged the border states to outlaw slavery, and pushed through Congress the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which permanently outlawed slavery.
An astute politician deeply involved with power issues in each state, Lincoln reached out to the War Democrats and managed his own re-election campaign in the 1864 presidential election. Anticipating the war's conclusion, Lincoln pushed a moderate view of Reconstruction, seeking to reunite the nation speedily through a policy of generous reconciliation in the face of lingering and bitter divisiveness.
On Ap ...
Slaves seek freedom through NE Kansas underground railroad
KSNT News at 5 p.m.
It's Our Community - Henry Fortunato
Henry Fortunato: Kansas historian
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MOOC | The Compromise of 1850 | The Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850-1861 | 1.4.4
Discover how the issue of slavery came to dominate American politics, and how political leaders struggled and failed to resolve the growing crisis in the nation.
A House Divided: The Road to Civil War, 1850-1861, is a course that begins by examining how generations of historians have explained the crisis of the Union. After discussing the institution of slavery and its central role in the southern and national economies, it turns to an account of the political and social history of the 1850s. It traces how the issue of the expansion of slavery came to dominate national politics, and how political leaders struggled, unsuccessfully, to resolve the growing crisis. We will examine the impact of key events such as Bleeding Kansas, the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, and end with the dissolution of the Union in the winter of 1860-1861.
This course is part of the series, The Civil War and Reconstruction, which introduces students to the most pivotal era in American history. The Civil War transformed the nation by eliminating the threat of secession and destroying the institution of slavery. It raised questions that remain central to our understanding of ourselves as a people and a nation — the balance of power between local and national authority, the boundaries of citizenship, and the meanings of freedom and equality. The series will examine the causes of the war, the road to secession, the conduct of the Civil War, the coming of emancipation, and the struggle after the war to breathe meaning into the promise of freedom for four million emancipated slaves. One theme throughout the series is what might be called the politics of history — how the world in which a historian lives affects his or her view of the past, and how historical interpretations reinforce or challenge the social order of the present.
Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University, is one of the most prominent historians in the United States. Professor Foner is the author or editor of over twenty books concentrating on the intersections of intellectual, political and social history and the history of American race relations. His recent book, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Bancroft Prize, and the Lincoln Prize. He is the author of Give Me Liberty!: An American History, a widely-used survey textbook of U. S. history published by W. W. Norton. Additionally, he is the recipient of the Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching from Columbia University. He is one of only two persons ever to serve as president of the three major professional organizations: the American Historical Association, Organization of American Historians, and Society of American Historians. As co-curator of two award-winning historical exhibitions, and through frequent appearances in newspapers and magazines and on radio and television discussion programs, he has also endeavored to bring historical knowledge to a broad public outside the university.
Enroll today!
See other courses in this series:
The Civil War and Reconstruction - 1861-1865
The Civil War and Reconstruction - 1865-1890
Credits: Many images courtesy of Eric Foner and Blackpast.org; the Chicago Historical Society; Colby College; Columbia University; Cornell University; Paul J. Cronin; HarperCollins; LaborArts.org; Library of Congress; Museum of Modern Art; New York University; the Roam Agency; Wikipedia; W. W. Norton & Co.; and additional cultural and educational institutions. The design, production, and distribution of The Civil War and Reconstruction” series is generously supported by the Office of the Provost at Columbia University.
The Civil War and Reconstruction course series is Copyright © 2014, Eric Foner and the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. Except where otherwise noted. Professor Foner’s course lecture videos in the series are licensed with the Creative Commons license BY-NC-SA 4.0, which means that anyone anywhere may copy, share, adapt, and remix the videos and the videos’ key media components, including transcripts, without having to ask for prior permission, as long as such sharing is done for noncommercial purposes and the original author, work, and copyright and Creative Commons notice above are cited. For more information, visit:
Jocko Podcast 76 with Charlie Plumb - 6 Years a POW at The Hanoi Hilton
Join the conversation on Twitter: @jockowillink @CaptPlumb @echocharles
0:00:00 - Opening.
0:03:59 - Intro to Capt. Charlie Plumb. I'm No Hero (book)
0:16:43 - Vietnam War and Flight Training.
0:29:15 - Deployment to Vietnam.
0:44:14 - Shot Down.
0:59:07 - The Hanoi Hilton.
2:26:35 - Release from The Hanoi Hilton.
2:30:44 - Life after Imprisonment.
2:38:40 - Reflections and Lessons Learned.
3:01:06 - Support, Cool Onnit, JockoStore stuff, with Jocko White Tea and Psychological Warfare (on iTunes). Extreme Ownership (book), (Jocko's Kids' Book) Way of the Warrior Kid, and The Muster 003.
3:12:25 - Closing Gratitude.
Topeka, Kansas | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Topeka, Kansas
00:01:39 1 History
00:01:48 1.1 Early history
00:02:38 1.2 19th century
00:07:40 1.3 20th century
00:12:48 1.4 21st century
00:13:45 1.4.1 Google, Kansas
00:14:58 2 Geography
00:16:01 2.1 Climate
00:18:41 3 Demographics
00:18:50 3.1 2010 census
00:21:13 3.2 2000 census
00:24:08 3.3 Crime
00:25:59 3.4 Religion
00:27:50 4 Economy
00:30:14 5 Arts and culture
00:30:23 5.1 Arts
00:30:44 5.2 Points of interest
00:32:15 5.3 Sports
00:32:23 5.4 Cuisine
00:33:06 6 Government
00:33:14 6.1 City
00:33:57 6.2 State
00:34:05 7 Education
00:34:14 7.1 Elementary and secondary education
00:35:21 7.2 Post-secondary education
00:36:04 8 Media
00:36:12 8.1 Print
00:36:36 8.2 Radio
00:37:04 8.3 Television
00:37:17 9 Infrastructure
00:37:26 9.1 Transportation
00:39:43 9.2 Utilities
00:40:05 9.3 Health care
00:40:26 10 Notable people
00:40:35 11 See also
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
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Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
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Topeka (; Kansa: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 127,473. The Topeka Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Shawnee, Jackson, Jefferson, Osage, and Wabaunsee counties, had a population of 233,870 in the 2010 census.
The name Topeka is a Kansa-Osage sentence that means place where we dug potatoes, or a good place to dig potatoes. As a placename, Topeka was first recorded in 1826 as the Kansa name for what is now called the Kansas River. Topeka's founders chose the name in 1855 because it was novel, of Indian origin and euphonious of sound. The mixed-blood Kansa Native American, Joseph James, called Jojim, is credited with suggesting the name of Topeka. The city, laid out in 1854, was one of the Free-State towns founded by Eastern antislavery men immediately after the passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Bill. In 1857, Topeka was chartered as a city.
The city is well known for the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which overturned Plessy vs. Ferguson and declared racial segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. Three ships of the U.S. Navy have been named USS Topeka after the city.