Capital City of Kansas - Topeka, KS - Kansas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The marker says, "Before it became the Kansas capital, Topeka was the seat of a free-state government-an alternative to the official proslavery territorial legislature elected in 1855. These two bodies represented opposing factions in Kansas' battle over slavery. Antislavery Kansans refused to recognize the official legislature because the elections has been heavily tainted by fraud: thousands of residents from proslavery Missouri crossed the border to cast illegal ballots in Kansas. The antislavery faction elected its own delegates in 1855 to draw up a state constitution. Lest the situation devolve into all-out civl war, President Franklin Pierce ordered federal troops to march into Topeka in July 1856 and shut down the free-state government. But the city remained a hotbed of anti-slavery agitation. When Kansas finally gained admission to the Union in 1861 - as a free state- Topeka became the lawful capital.

Topeka was also the birthplace of U.S. Vice President Charles Curtis (b.1860). Curtis was the first American Indian and the first Kansas to hold the office."

Marker Name: Capital City of Kansas Marker Type: Roadside Marker text: Before it became the Kansas capital, Topeka was the seat of a free-state government-an alternative to the official proslavery territorial legislature elected in 1855. These two bodies represented opposing factions in Kansas' battle over slavery. Antislavery Kansans refused to recognize the official legislature because the elections has been heavily tainted by fraud: thousands of residents from proslavery Missouri crossed the border to cast illegal ballots in Kansas. The antislavery faction elected its own delegates in 1855 to draw up a state constitution. Lest the situation devolve into all-out civl war, President Franklin Pierce ordered federal troops to march into Topeka in July 1856 and shut down the free-state government. But the city remained a hotbed of anti-slavery agitation. When Kansas finally gained admission to the Union in 1861 - as a free state- Topeka became the lawful capital. Topeka was also the birthplace of U.S. Vice President Charles Curtis (b.1860). Curtis was the first American Indian and the first Kansas to hold the office." Marker Location: Shawnee Name of agency setting marker: Other (Please identify in marker text) Year Marker Placed: Not listed Official Marker Number: Not listed Marker Web Address: Not listed

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