Happy National Kansas Day! Today we observe the 34th state to join the union back on January 29, 1861.
This U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka and its largest city is Wichita, with its most populated county and largest employment center being Johnson County. Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north; Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; and Colorado on the west.
Magnificent herds of bison, elk, mule deer and antelope roamed the vast open plains populated by Cherokee, Osage, Pawnee and many other tribes. The region became a part of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
Generations of travelers came to Kansas as the country expanded. From the Corps of Discover in 1804 to the Pony Express, all the roads in Kansas seemed to point westward.
Railroads brought rapid settlement to the territory and with it the divisive decision for citizens regarding statehood. Would Kansas be free or slave? The debates turned so vicious, the territory earned the name “Bleeding Kansas” before entering the union as a state.
With the railroads, ranching, livestock, and agriculture grew. Also nicknamed The Wheat State, the verdant, fertile soil of the Kansas farmland made the state the Breadbasket of the World.
American author L. Frank Baum even depicted farm life for one young girl named Dorothy in his books about a place called Oz.
His 1900 children's literature fantasy fiction novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz took the world by storm, especially when Hollywood put Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, Margaret Hamilton and Billie Burke in the cast. There was indeed no place like home, no place like Kansas.
One of the most critical decisions in Civil Rights history took place in Topeka, Kansas. The appeal of Brown vs. the Board of Education was brought before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1954.
What had started with groups of parents and teachers in all-black schools in communities across the country had finally culminated in a final decision. Separate but equal violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Discover the trails and byways of Kansas! Follow the Yellow Brick Road, find an adventure and history or explore the back roads. Dive into barbeque while listening to live jazz. Celebrate National Kansas Day with us! Use #NationalKansasDay to share on social media.
Hidden Treasures
We also observe these famous figures born in Kansas of whom are still recognized for their past accomplishments, heroics, talents, ingenuity and innovations: Bessie Anderson Stanley, Clarence Batchelor, Hattie McDaniel, Buster Keaton, Amelia Earhart, Aaron Douglas, William Inge, Gwendolyn Brooks, Charlie Parker, Basil Poledouris, Lynette Woodard and Melissa Etheridge.
Visit the link below to see those of notable birth who were not mentioned on the list above:
Here's to The Sunflower State!
#NationalKansasDay
@Chiefs
@KansasBand
@GlenCampbell
@GlenCampbell
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