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==History==
==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>
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>
==Politics==
Kansas is perhaps one of the best examples of a [[red state]], having voted for the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 1964. 71% of voters supported a ban on gay marriage in 2005 <ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/05/national/main685831.shtml</ref>, and both of its senators (Pat Roberts and [[Sam Brownback]] are Republicans), and there is a general sense that the Republican primaries are more important than general elections on a state level. However, this may be changing. Former Rep. [[Jim Ryun]]'s surprise loss to Nancy Boyda in 2006 has created a situation in which two out of the four U.S. Representatives (Boyda and Dennis Moore, who represents the affluent suburban area near Kansas City) are Democrats. (The two Republicans are Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran). Also, the state's current governor, Kathleen Sebelius, is a Democrat in her second term.
==Miscellaneous==
==Miscellaneous==