1st Kansas Colored Infantry flag
Date: between 1862 and 1864
Blue silk regimental flag of the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, the first African American regiment from a northern state in the Civil War. Recruitment began August 1862, although they weren't mustered into Federal service until January 13, 1863. They saw their first action at Island Mound, Mo., October 29, 1862. The flag bears the names of eight battle honors. In 1864 the regiment was redesignated the 79th United States Colored Regiment.

A. J. Bradford to James W. Denver
Creator: Bradford, A. G.
Date: April 1, 1858
A. G. Bradford, writing from Washington, D.C., to Governor James W. Denver, reports that the U.S. House of Representatives passes the Crittenden-Montgomery resolution, which proposed to resubmit the Lecompton Constitution to a vote in Kansas Territory. Bradford predicts, however, that a House-Senate conference committee would endorse the Senate's version of the Lecompton Constitution bill, which proposed the admission of Kansas as a state under the Lecompton Constitution. Bradford adds that he believes both houses of Congress would agree to admit Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution.

A. Pierse to Eli Thayer
Creator: Pierse, A.
Date: March 31, 1857
A. Pierse wrote from Washington, D.C. to Eli Thayer in Worcester, Massachusetts. Pierse was born in North Carolina and lived most of his life in the South but had been living in Minnesota Territory for the past seven years. He told Thayer that he planned to move to Kansas in the spring of 1857. Pierse offered Thayer his opinion on what free state supporters should do in Kansas Territory. He informed Thayer that, although he had "Southern opinions on the subject of slavery" and believed the federal government had no right to prohibit slavery in the territories, he was "without prejudice for or against either side" in the debate over slavery in Kansas Territory. Pierse suggested that the best course for free staters to take would be to accept the Dred Scott decision, actively participate in the political process in Kansas Territory, and work for the admission of Kansas as a state with or without slavery. Once Kansas was admitted, he contended, free state supporters would be on firmer legal ground to advocate for the prohibition of slavery, since it was generally accepted that "the people have the power to prohibit slavery in their state." He concluded by stating that once Kansas was a state, free staters could make the case that property would be worth 3 or 4 times more if slavery was prohibited in the state.

Abraham Lincoln
Date: 1850s
A portrait of Abraham Lincoln. In December 1859, Lincoln traveled to the Kansas Territory and spoke at Elwood, Troy, Doniphan, Atchison, and Leavenworth. His speeches covered several issues including preventing the expansion of slavery, the theory of popular sovereignty, and the evils of states seceding from the Union. In 1860, Lincoln received the Republican party's nomination for president. Although Kansans liked him the delegation from the territory did not support his nomination. He won the election, and on February 22, 1861, at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Lincoln raised the United States flag bearing a 34th star, honoring Kansas as the newest state.

Absalom White territorial loss claim
Creator: Strickler, Hiram Jackson
Date: 1859
Report of H.L. Strickler, Commissioner to Audit Claims of Citizens of the Territory of Kansas, contained in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set of congressional and executive documents. Absalom White filed claim #246 for the loss of an arm as a result of being struck by a bullet at a battle with southerners near the H. T. Titus [probably Henry C.] home in Douglas County. The arm was subsequently amputated. The claim was not allowed on the grounds that White was "engaged in rebellion and making unwarranted attack on the person and property of a private citizen." Each claimant had to submit an itemized list and have two witnesses attest to the losses claimed. Even though many of these claims were approved for payment, no funds were ever appropriated or distributed.

Address of the Constitutional Convention to American Public
Date: April 3, 1858
A committee made up of John M. Walden, James Fletcher, Thomas Ewing, Jr., Isaac T. Goodnow, Henry J. Adams, T. Dwight Thacher, and Addison Danford prepared this eleven-page manuscript "address to accompany the instrument" adopted at the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention. The statement essentially laid out the philosophical foundations and rationale for the new document. It argued that the facts showed the overwhelming majority of Kansans desired admission as a free state.

Affidavits of colored men, in report and testimony of the select committee to investigate the causes of the removal of the Negroes from the southern states to the northern states, in three parts
Creator: United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Negro Exodus
Date: 1880
The Senate select committee charged with investigating the causes of the Exodus included this list of sworn affidavits in their report. The affidavits are given by ten black men and one black woman who outlined their treatment while living in Louisiana. Each affidavit includes their full name and parish (county) of residence. Although this source does not directly refer to Kansas, many Exodusters who came to Kansas during the post-Civil War period came from Louisiana.

Airport dedication, Manhattan, Kansas
Date: April 19, 1953
A photograph of Mayor Richard Dean Rogers with United States Senator Frank Carlson and other dignitaries at the Manhattan Municipal Airport dedication, Manhattan, Kansas.

A joint resolution to amend the constitution of the United States
Creator: United States. President (1861-1865 : Lincoln)
Date: March 16, 1861
This document is a copy of a joint resolution to amend the constitution of the United States, sent to the governor of Kansas. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America that Article XIII be "proposed to the legislatures of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States which when ratified by three-fourths of said legislatures shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the said Constitution." Article XIII - "No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere within any state with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State."

Albert McDonald Cole
Date: Between 1945 and 1953
This black and white photograph shows Albert McDonald Cole. A lawyer and a county attorney from Jackson County, Kansas. Cole began his political career, in 1941, when he was elected to the Kansas Senate as a representative for the counties of Atchison and Jackson. He served in the legislature until 1945 before successfully being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas' first congressional district, (1945-1953). In his 1952 bid for re-election, Cole was narrowly defeated but the loss was attributed to his support for the construction of the Tuttle Creek Dam. After his career in Kansas politics came to a close, Cole later served during the Eisenhower adminsitration as Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency (1953-1959). From 1959 to-1961, he served as vice president of Reynolds Aluminum Service Corp. and president of Reynolds Metals Development Corp.(1961-1967).

Alexander Caldwell home in Leavenworth, Kansas
Date: Between 1885 and 1890
This is a tintype showing Alexander Caldwell's home in Leavenworth, Kansas. Born at Drakes Ferry, Pennsylvania, in 1830, Alexander Caldwell came to Leavenworth in 1861 and worked in the freighting business. Later, he was involved in manufacturing and banking. Caldwell, a Republican, served in the U.S. Senate from March 4, 1871 to March 24, 1873. He resigned from office under a cloud of corruption in 1873 and pursued his business interests in Leavenworth and Kansas City until his death on May 19, 1917.

Alfred Mossman Landon
Date: c. 1936
Alfred Mossman Landon with daughter Nancy Jo and son John Cobb riding a carousel at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Alfred Mossman Landon
Date: c. 1936
This photograph shows Alfred Mossman Landon with his daughter, Nancy, and son, John, on a carousel at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Alfred Mossman Landon
Date: c. 1936
This photograph shows Alfred Mossman Landon with daughter, Nancy Jo, and son, John Cobb, at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas. Landon served as tthe 26th Governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937.

Alfred Mossman Landon
Date: c. 1936
Alfred Mossman Landon with daughter, Nancy Jo, and son, John Cobb, at the Kansas Free Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Alfred Mossman Landon
Date: c. 1936
Alfred Mossman Landon with daughter, Nancy Jo, and son, John Cobb, at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Alfred Mossman Landon
Date: c. 1936
This photograph shows Kansas Governor Alfred Mossman Landon with his daughter, Nancy Jo, at the Kansas Free Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Alfred Mossman Landon
Date: c. 1936
Alfred Mossman Landon with daughter, Nancy Jo, and son, John Cobb, at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Alfred Mossman Landon, Kansas Governor, with wife Theo and children
Creator: International News Photos, Inc
Date: December 2, 1935
This photograph represents Kansas Governor Alfred Mossman Landon outside the governor's mansion with his wife Theo, and three children, Peggy, Nancy and John, during his campaign for Republican Presidential nomination in 1936.

Alfred Mossman Landon and family
Creator: Wolfe, Harold B., 1898-1966
Date: c. 1936
This photograph represents Alfred Mossman Landon and his family, Theo, Nancy and Joe. The family along with others are standing in front of steam locomotive at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas while he was governor.

Alfred Mossman Landon and family
Creator: International News Photos, Inc
Date: 1935
This photograph portrays Kansas Governor Alfred Mossman Landon with his family at the governor's mansion in Topeka, Kansas. The photograph may have been taken during his unsuccessful run as Republican nominee in the 1936 President race against President Franklin Roosevelt.

Alfred Mossman Landon and his children
Date: c. 1936
This photograph represents Kansas Governor Alfred Mossman Landon holding his daughter, Nancy, and son John's hands at the Kansas Free Fair in Topeka, Kansas.

Alicia Vandahl to Representative Albert Cole
Creator: Vandahl, Alicia
Date: February 04, 1952
This letter was written by Alicia Vandahl, Randolph, Kansas, to United States Representative Albert Cole, Washington, D.C. She writes in opposition to building Tuttle Creek dam because she believes it will not be just one dam but will lead to 20 to 40 others. She doesn't want Kansas river valleys destroyed and believes the dams won't prevent flooding. She wants the issue studied and asks Cole to wait until the President's Missouri Basin Review Committee completes its study.

Alphabetical agencies created under the Roosevelt New Deal Party
Creator: Biggers, E.M.
Date: 1932
This item, printed and issued by Biggers Printing Company of Houston, Texas, lists the many different agencies created under President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. In addition to well-known programs such as the WPA, the list contains many lesser-known agencies, providing an interesting glimpse into the expansion of the U.S. Government under the New Deal.

Amos A. Lawrence to Sara Robinson
Creator: Lawrence, Amos Adams
Date: June 26, 1856
Amos A. Lawrence writes from New York to state that he believes "Gov. Robinson cannot be harmed by any action of law," but thinks it wise for Sara T. D. Robinson to write a letter to Lawrence's mother "to be kept in reserve." Lawrence included a draft version of that letter but it has not been digitized. Lawrence mentions visits with Congressmen William Howard and John Sherman (Howard Commission) and testimony before a congressional committee. He seems optimistic about the situation in Kansas. [Reprinted in Blackmar, "Life of Charles Robinson," 434.]