Changes

In retaliation, a fanatical white man named John Brown took four of his sons and two others and went to Pottawatomie in Kansas, and executed five (5) pro-slavery colonists.  This event became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre.  Unlike most abolitionists, Brown supported violent action against slavery.  As time went on, more and more blood was shed in Kansas.  Some prominent anti-slavery activists and intellectuals in the northeast, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, even praised John Brown.

In retaliation, a fanatical white man named John Brown took four of his sons and two others and went to Pottawatomie in Kansas, and executed five (5) pro-slavery colonists.  This event became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre.  Unlike most abolitionists, Brown supported violent action against slavery.  As time went on, more and more blood was shed in Kansas.  Some prominent anti-slavery activists and intellectuals in the northeast, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, even praised John Brown.

In the "Crime against Kansas" speech, an abolitionist Senator from Massachusetts Charles Sumner described the slave oligarchy and insulted and humiliated the elderly Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina (who was not there during Sumner's speech). In retaliation, Butler's nephew, Preston Butler, who was a congressman, went into Sumner's chambers and beat him senseless with a cane.  It took Sumner many years to recover. Preston Butler immediately resigned but became such a hero to the South that he was unanimously reelected by his district.

In the "Crime against Kansas" speech, an abolitionist Senator from Massachusetts Charles Sumner described the slave oligarchy and insulted and humiliated the elderly Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina (who was not there during Sumner's speech). In retaliation, Butler's nephew, Preston Butler, who was a congressman, went into Sumner's chambers and beat him senseless with a cane.  Sumner never fully recovered from this beating. Preston Butler immediately resigned but became such a hero to the South that he was virtually unanimously reelected by his district. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a Boston writer who opposed slavery, reacted to this incident by saying, "I do not see how a barbarous community and a civilized community can constitute one state. I think we must get rid of slavery, or we must get rid of freedom."

This entire conflict in Kansas over slavery in the 1850s was called "Bleeding Kansas" because of the violence that occurred on both sides.  As an example of "history repeating itself," more than 120 years later Kansas became the center of national attention based on its internal conflict over the abortion issue.

This entire conflict in Kansas over slavery in the 1850s was called "Bleeding Kansas" because of the violence that occurred on both sides.  As an example of "history repeating itself," more than 120 years later Kansas became the center of national attention based on its internal conflict over the abortion issue.