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Today's cutesy, gingham-pinafore image of KANSAS , associated with
Little House on the Prairie and The Wizard of Oz , is a far cry
indeed from the troubled history that made it known as "bleeding
Kansas." It took three hundred years after Coronado came in
search of gold in 1541 before pioneers established trails across
the region, and Kansas's bid for statehood in 1861 is often cited
as the catalyst for the Civil War. The 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act,
which gave both territories the right to self-determination over
slavery, led to fierce clashes between Free Staters and pro-slavery
forces. Runaway slaves from the South were given passage through
the area, aided by abolitionist John Brown, and Kansas eventually
joined the Union as a free state.
After the war, the mighty cattle drives from Texas made towns like
Abilene, Wichita and Dodge City centers of the " Wild West
." The debauched, male image of the West, spawning such "heroes"
as Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok, is, however, challenged in Kansas,
which as well as being the first state to give women the vote in
municipal elections, boasts the nation's first female mayor and
senator, as well as aviator Amelia Earhart and the battling Prohibitionist
Carry Nation.
In 1874, Russian Mennonites brought the grain that was to transform
the state into the bountiful "bread basket" that now harvests
most of the nation's wheat. However, only in the west do miles of
golden corn sway in Kansas's infamous gusty wind. The green and
hilly northeast, patterned with woods and lakes, is home to the
unattractive industrial city of Topeka, liberal college town Lawrence
, and the dull suburbs of Kansas City (though downtown lies across
the state line in Missouri). The wild and sparse northwest is pioneer
country, while the once-wicked cowtown Dodge City is in the southwest.
Wichita , the state's largest city, lies in the south central area.
Greyhound buses run to all Kansas's main cities, supplemented by
erratic smaller companies; services to the west and southwest are
especially poor. The most frequent routes run from Kansas City to
Albuquerque via Wichita (about 3 daily; 20-23hr), with one or two
buses per day along I-70 to Denver. Amtrak trains head east-west
between LA and Chicago through the center of the state, calling,
usually in the middle of the night, at Lawrence, Topeka, Emporia,
Newton (for Wichita, but without a connecting service), Dodge City
and Garden City. Wichita has the state's biggest airport .
See what Kansas car rentals has to offer today. Choose a link
above to view today's special Kansas rental car rates from different
agencies! Click here to get started with a car
rental quote now!
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