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Few people would have expected bloodshed in Kansas Territory. After all, it had few slaves and showed few signs that slavery would even flourish. But civil war tore this territory apart in the 1850s and 60s, and "Bleeding Kansas" became a forbidding symbol for the nationwide clash over slavery that followed. Many free-state Kansans seemed to care little about slaves, and many proslavery Kansans owned not a single slave. But the failed promise of the Kansas-Nebraska Act-when fraud in local elections subverted the settlers' right to choose whether Kansas would be a slave or free state-fanned the flames of war. While other writers have cited slavery or economics as the cause of unrest, Nicole Etcheson seeks to revise our understanding of this era by focusing on whites' concerns over their political liberties. The first comprehensive account of "Bleeding Kansas" in more than thirty years, her study re-examines the debate over slavery expansion to emphasize issues of popular sovereignty rather than slavery's moral or economic dimensions. The free-state movement was a coalition of settlers who favored black rights and others who wanted the territory only for whites, but all were united by the conviction that their political rights were violated by nonresident voting and by Democratic presidents' heavy-handed administration of the territories. Etcheson argues that participants on both sides of the Kansas conflict believed they fought to preserve the liberties secured by the American Revolution and that violence erupted because each side feared the loss of meaningful self-governance. Bleeding Kansas is a gripping account of events and people-rabble-rousing Jim Lane, zealot John Brown, Sheriff Sam Jones, and others-that examines the social milieu of the settlers along with the political ideas they developed. Covering the period from the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act to the 1879 Exoduster Migration, it traces the complex interactions among groups inside and outside the territory, creating a comprehensive political, social, and intellectual history of this tumultuous period in the state's history. As Etcheson demonstrates, the struggle over the political liberties of whites may have heightened the turmoil but led eventually to a broadening of the definition of freedom to include blacks. Her insightful re-examination sheds new light on this era and is essential reading for anyone interested in the ideological origins of the Civil War.

Excerpt from Report of the Superintendent of the New England Soldiers Relief Association, December, 1862 The following Report of the practical working of the New England Soldiers' Relief Association is designed to render not only the customary account of the stewardship of the Superintendent, but also to furnish such information concerning the Association, and the work it has endeavored to accomplish, as may be of interest to its friends and the soldiers who have been or may be the objects of its care. The preamble to the "Plan of Organization," declares the purposes of the Association to be: "To aid and care for all sick and wounded soldiers passing through the City of New York on their way to or from the War." It was established by Sons of New England resident in the City of New York. The formal organization was completed April 3d, 1862, and on April 8th the building No. 194 Broadway was thrown open to the reception of beneficiaries. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Most entries in this account book relate to the transportation of military personnel from New York City to their homes in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Accounts were for ambulance drivers and a bookkeeper, as well as a lengthy account for Col. John H. Almy. Almy was an agent for Connecticut and Rhode Island, charged with transporting their injured troops. Additionally, Almy worked with the New England Soldiers' Relief Association, a group with a similar mission, though working with all soldiers passing through New York City.