The first African American photographer to be hired full time by Life magazine, Gordon Parks was often sent on assignments involving social issues that his white colleagues were not asked to cover. In 1950 he returned on one such assignment to his hometown of Fort Scott in southeastern Kansas: he was to provide photographs for a piece on segregated schools and their impact on black children in the years prior to Brown v. Board of Education. Parks intended to revisit early memories of his birthplace, many involving serious racial discrimination, and to discover what had become of the 11 members of his junior high school graduation class since his departure 20 years earlier. But when he arrived only one member of the class remained in Fort Scott, the rest having followed the well-worn paths of the Great Migration in search of better lives in urban centers such as St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbus and Chicago. Heading out to those cities Parks found his friends and their families and photographed them on their porches, in their parlors and dining rooms, on their way to church and working at their jobs, and interviewed them about their decision to leave the segregated system of their youth and head north. His resulting photo essay was slated to appear in Life in the spring of 1951, but was ultimately never published. This book showcases the 80-photo series in a single volume for the first time, offering a sensitive and visually arresting view of our country's racialized history. Gordon Parks (1912-2006) was born into poverty and segregation in Fort Scott, Kansas. The self-taught photographer also found success as a film director, author and composer. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts and over 50 honorary degrees.

No person excited greater emotion in Kansas than James Henry Lane, the U.S. senator who led a volunteer brigade in 1861–1862. In fighting numerous skirmishes, liberating hundreds of slaves, burning portions of four towns, and murdering half a dozen men, Lane and his brigade garnered national attention as the saviors of Kansas and the terror of Missouri. This first book-length study of the “jayhawkers,” as the men of Lane’s brigade were known, takes a fresh look at their exploits and notoriety. Bryce Benedict draws on a wealth of previously unexploited sources, including letters by brigade members, to dramatically re-create the violence along the Kansas-Missouri border and challenge some of the time-honored depictions of Lane’s unit as bloodthirsty and indiscriminately violent. Bringing to life an era of guerillas, bushwhackers, and slave stealers, Jayhawkers also describes how Lane’s brigade was organized and equipped and provides details regarding staff and casualties. Assessing the extent to which the jayhawkers followed accepted rules of warfare, Benedict argues that Lane set a precedent for the Union Army’s eventual adoption of “hard” tactics toward civilians. An entertaining story rich in detail, Jayhawkers will captivate scholars and history enthusiasts as it sheds new light on the unfettered violence on this western fringe of the Civil War.

As the life of U.S. senator James Lane unfolded on the Kansas frontier, so did his saintly and dastardly deeds. Some called him a murderer while others affectionately called him a good politician. Carefully preserving the character of the misunderstood senator, this book tells the untold and largely forgotten story of the controversial Civil War-era figure. James H."the Grim Chieftain" Lane was the most powerful politician west of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. Born in 1814, he spent his early life in military service during the Mexican War and he eventually entered into a life of politics. At the age of thirty-one, Lane spent his earnings to run for a seat in the Indiana legislature. Although his attempt was unsuccessful, he didn�t have to wait long before taking the first of many offices as the lieutenant governor of the State of Indiana, a position he won by a single vote in 1849. From there, his career took him along an aggressive path that led him to Kansas as he argued for popular sovereignty during the state�s formation. Early on, he gained a reputation as a fanatic who was responsible for leading Kansas into the Civil War. In a series of controversial and compelling chapters, Collins illustrates a long line of federal patronage, which served as the senator's power base from which he drew upon allegiance and loyalty. Tragically, Lane's life ended ten days after he put a revolver in his mouth and pulled the trigger. The lost story of Jim Lane will interest anyone seeking a historical perspective of "Bleeding Kansas."

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1921 Edition.

1st-6th biennial reports of the society, 1875-88, included in v. 1-4.