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my state
'''Kansas''' is a Midwestern state and became the 34th state admitted to the Union on January 29, 1861. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest cities are, in order, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City. The name ''Kansas'' comes from a Sioux word meaning "people of the south wind".
==History==
Kansas was admitted as a [[free state]] in the midst of guerilla warfare between pro-slavery and abolitionist forces that had erupted in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. <ref>http://www.legendsofamerica.com/OZ-BleedingKansas.html</ref> This act provided for an election to determine whether Kansas would be a free state or a slave state, and many people flooded into the state to vote. The vote process was not easy, and was rife with accusations of voter fraud. <ref>http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/kansas.htm</ref> Noted abolitionist [[John Brown]] led anti-slavery forces during some of this time period. This violence continued after Kansas was admitted to the union, and the worst example was the destruction of the city of Lawrence by pro-slavery guerilla [[William Quantrill]] on August 21, 1863, which killed most of the male population of the town. <ref>http://www.legendsofamerica.com/OZ-Lawrence2.html</ref>
==Miscellaneous==
Kansas exports more wheat than any other state. Kansas's economy is heavily dependent upon agriculture. <ref>http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/CAFTA/ks.html</ref>
Kansas's motto is ''ad astra per aspera'', which is Latin for "to the stars through difficulties." Its state flower is the sunflower, its state tree is the cottonwood, and its state bird is the Western meadowlark.
[[Helium]] was first found in natural gas at the University of Kansas in Lawrence in 1905. <ref>http://www.news.ku.edu/2000/00N/AprNews/Apr7/bailey.html</ref>
==Notable Kansans==
[[Bob Dole]], former US Senator and the 1996 Republican nominee for President, grew up in Russell.
[[Amelia Earhart]], the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, was from Abilene.
[[Dwight Eisenhower]], president of the United States from 1952 to 1960, grew up in Abilene.
[[James Naismith]], inventor of the game of basketball, was a professor and coach at the University of Kansas.
[[Gordon Parks]], an award-winning African-American photographer and writer, was from Fort Scott.
[[Jim Ryun]], a three time Olympic gold medalist who held the world record in the mile run and served several terms in the House of Representatives, is originally from Wichita but now lives in Lawrence.
[[William Allen White]], a journalist who is most well known for his bitter piece of conservative satire, ''What's the Matter With Kansas?'', lived in Emporia.
==References==
<references/>
==History==
Kansas was admitted as a [[free state]] in the midst of guerilla warfare between pro-slavery and abolitionist forces that had erupted in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. <ref>http://www.legendsofamerica.com/OZ-BleedingKansas.html</ref> This act provided for an election to determine whether Kansas would be a free state or a slave state, and many people flooded into the state to vote. The vote process was not easy, and was rife with accusations of voter fraud. <ref>http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/kansas.htm</ref> Noted abolitionist [[John Brown]] led anti-slavery forces during some of this time period. This violence continued after Kansas was admitted to the union, and the worst example was the destruction of the city of Lawrence by pro-slavery guerilla [[William Quantrill]] on August 21, 1863, which killed most of the male population of the town. <ref>http://www.legendsofamerica.com/OZ-Lawrence2.html</ref>
==Miscellaneous==
Kansas exports more wheat than any other state. Kansas's economy is heavily dependent upon agriculture. <ref>http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/factsheets/CAFTA/ks.html</ref>
Kansas's motto is ''ad astra per aspera'', which is Latin for "to the stars through difficulties." Its state flower is the sunflower, its state tree is the cottonwood, and its state bird is the Western meadowlark.
[[Helium]] was first found in natural gas at the University of Kansas in Lawrence in 1905. <ref>http://www.news.ku.edu/2000/00N/AprNews/Apr7/bailey.html</ref>
==Notable Kansans==
[[Bob Dole]], former US Senator and the 1996 Republican nominee for President, grew up in Russell.
[[Amelia Earhart]], the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, was from Abilene.
[[Dwight Eisenhower]], president of the United States from 1952 to 1960, grew up in Abilene.
[[James Naismith]], inventor of the game of basketball, was a professor and coach at the University of Kansas.
[[Gordon Parks]], an award-winning African-American photographer and writer, was from Fort Scott.
[[Jim Ryun]], a three time Olympic gold medalist who held the world record in the mile run and served several terms in the House of Representatives, is originally from Wichita but now lives in Lawrence.
[[William Allen White]], a journalist who is most well known for his bitter piece of conservative satire, ''What's the Matter With Kansas?'', lived in Emporia.
==References==
<references/>