Born in Emporia, Kansas in 1868, William Allen White grew up in El Dorado, attended the College of Emporia and the University of Kansas and worked on newspapers in Topeka and Kansas City before buying The Emporia Gazette in 1895. In 1896, White wrote a forceful conservative editorial aimed at the Populist party. The editorial, "What's the Matter With Kansas?", was widely distributed by the Republican campaign, launching White into the national spotlight.