The History of Kansas

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The state of Kansas was tossed back and forth between the French, British, Spanish and Americans. France surrendered its North American possessions at the end of the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Year War. New Orleans and the Louisiana Territory west of the Mississippi were in Spain’s possession in 1762. French territories east of the Mississippi, including Canada, were ceded to Britain. Napoleon, who took power in 1799, aimed to gain control back over North American territory. As part of the Treaty of San Ildefonso, on October 1802 the Spain's King Charles IV signed a decree transferring the Louisiana Territory to France. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States. This transaction became known as the Louisiana Purchase. The Louisiana Purchase allowed for the United States to acquire the land west of the Mississippi, including Kansas. Kansas was chaotic when the United States acquired it. Although the technical ownership over the land now known as Kansas was the United States, the native people had lived on the land many years prior to its seizure. There were many indigenous tribes that lived in Kansas, prior to it being a state. Some of the tribes include: Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kansa, Kiowa, Kiowa Apache, Osage, Pawnee, Plains Apache and the Wichita. By the mid-nineteenth century however most of the tribes were attacked and killed or relocated to a reservation. In 1829, the Delaware’s, also known as the Lenape, were the first Indians to sign a treaty giving them land in what we now call Kansas. It took much longer for some tribes to acquire land, in 1930; nearly 30 tribes were given land in the areas. These tribes included: the Cherokee, Chippewa, Delaware, Iowa, Iroqu... ... middle of paper ... ...xtension. “Wildlife in Kansas” Retrieved December 13, 2013. http://www.wildlife.ksu.edu/ 15. Riley County Historical Museum. “Exoduster Movement”. Retrieved December 12, 2013. http://rileycountyhistoricalmuseum.weebly.com/exoduster-movement-1879.html 16. USA today. “Top Ten Places to Visit in Kansas”-Travel tips. Retrieved December 12, 2013. http://traveltips.usatoday.com/top-10-places-visit-kansas-62263.html 17. Washburn University. “Timeline of Kansas- Eras & Characters.” Retrieved December 3, 2013, from http://www.washburn.edu/cas/history/stucker/timeline.html 18. Werner, Morris. “Wheelbarrow Emigrant of 1850”. –Kansas Heritage. Retrieved December 13, 2013. http://www.kansasheritage.org/werner/wheemigr.html 19. Yale Law School. “Treat of San Ildefonso”. –The Avalon Project. Retrieved December 13, 2013. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/ildefens.asp

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