Border ruffians were

proslavery Proslavery is a support for slavery. It is found in the Bible, in the thought of ancient philosophers, in British writings and in American writings especially before the American Civil War but also later through 20th century. Arguments in favor o ...

raiders, crossing from the

slave state In the United States before 1865, a slave state was a state in which slavery and the internal or domestic slave trade were legal, while a free state was one in which they were not. Between 1812 and 1850, it was considered by the slave states ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

into the Kansas Territory, to help ensure Kansas entered the Union as a

. They were a key part of the violent period called

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

, that peaked from 1854 to 1858. Their crimes included fraudulent voting (falsely saying they were residents of Kansas), interference with elections, and raiding, intimidating, and destroying property of "Free-State" (anti-slavery) settlers. Some took pride in their criminal reputation. Many became pro- Confederate guerrillas, or

bushwhacker Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare common during the American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, American Civil War and other conflicts in which there were large areas of contested land and few governmental resources to control these tra ...

Origin

Ferrying Missouri voters to the Kansas shore

to the Kansas shore, by Gilbert Gaul Border ruffians marching on Lawrence, Kansas

The 1913 edition of

Webster's Dictionary ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's n ...

reflects the 19th century understanding of the word '' wikt:ruffian'' as a "scoundrel, rascal, or unprincipled, deceitful, brutal and unreliable person". Among the first to use the term ''border ruffian'' in connection with the slavery issue in Kansas was the ''Herald of Freedom'', a newspaper published in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. As of the 2020 census ...

. On October 8, 1857, it reported the following: Armed with revolvers and Bowie knives, border ruffians forcefully interfered in the Kansas row over slavery. A correspondent for the

London Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its s ...

while visiting Kansas in 1856 reported many occurrences of the so-called ''bowie-knife voting'' in Kansas when voters were heckled and harassed by border ruffians. In response, the

New England Emigrant Aid Company The New England Emigrant Aid Company (originally the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company) was a transportation company founded in Boston, Massachusetts by activist Eli Thayer in the wake of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed the population of ...

shipped

Sharps rifle Sharps rifles are a series of large-bore, single-shot, falling-block, breech-loading rifles, beginning with a design by Christian Sharps in 1848 and ceasing production in 1881. They were renowned for long-range accuracy. By 1874 the rifle ...

s to the Kansas Territory, in crates said to have been labeled "Bibles". At that time, many Kansas settlers opposed slavery. However, slavery advocates were determined to have their way regardless. When elections were held, bands of armed border ruffians seized polling places, prevented Free-State men from voting, and cast votes illegally, falsely stating they were Kansas residents. Border ruffians operated from Missouri. It was said that they voted and shot in Kansas, but slept in Missouri. They not only interfered in territorial elections, but also committed outrages on Free-State settlers and destroyed their property. This violence gave the origin of the phrase "

". However, political killings and violence were exercised by both warring sides. The federal government did not interfere to stop the violence. Hence, such ignominious episodes as the sacking of Lawrence, Kansas, in May 1856 became possible.

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

David Rice Atchison David Rice Atchison (August 11, 1807January 26, 1886) was a mid-19th century Democratic United States Senator from Missouri. He served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate for six years. Atchison served as a major general in ...

(D-Missouri) personally incited the assembling mob: Border ruffians contributed to the increasingly violent sectional tensions, culminating in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

Leaders and followers

Border ruffians did not constitute an organized group. They never had meetings, had no designated leaders, and no one ever directed any message to them as a body. Border ruffians were driven by the rhetoric of politicians such as

, Benjamin Franklin Stringfellow, John H. Stringfellow, editor of the pro-slavery newspaper ''Squatter Sovereign'' (

Atchison, Kansas Atchison is a city and county seat of Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator David Rice Atchison from Missouri ...

), and Speaker of the House in the First Kansas Territorial Legislature, the so-called Bogus Legislature. and Rev. Thomas Johnson, a Methodist preacher. Samuel J. Jones, and Daniel Woodson, a proslavery newspaper editor, In particular, Atchison called Northerners "negro thieves" and "abolitionist tyrants". He encouraged Missourians to defend their institution "with the bayonet and with blood" and, if necessary, "to kill every God-damned abolitionist in the district". Few of the ordinary border ruffians actually owned slaves because most were too poor. Their motivation was hatred of

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

and

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, and fear of free Blacks living nearby. Kansas slavery was small-scale and operated mainly at the household level. Most of the Kansans, according to historian David M. Potter, were concerned primarily about land titles. He pointed out that, "the great anomaly of 'Bleeding Kansas' is that the slavery issue reached a condition of intolerable tension and violence ... in an area where a majority of the inhabitants apparently did not care very much one way or the other about slavery." Frank W. Blackmar's encyclopedia of Kansas history summarizes how the rank-and-file among border ruffians took pride in both how they were called and what they were doing: The presence of violent bands of both Kansan and Missourian combatants made it difficult for settlers on the Kansas–Missouri border to remain neutral.Newlon, Jack, Rob Spooner, and Alicia Spooner
Bleeding Kansas: Mid 1850s – Precursor to the Civil War
, in U-S-History.com. Online Highways, 2021 Liberty, the fair maid of Kansas in the hands of the border ruffians, c1856

Liberty, the fair maid of Kansas in the hands of the border ruffians, c1856

History

The history of border ruffians is woven into the historical context of

, or the border war, a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas in 1854–1859. Kansas Territory was created by the

Kansas–Nebraska Act The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 () was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law by ...

of 1854. The Act repealed the previous Federal prohibition on slavery in that area. Instead, the locally elected territorial legislature was to decide on the slavery issue. The first territorial census, taken in January–February 1855, counted 8601 people; 2905 were deemed eligible to vote; there were 192 enslaved in the Territory. After the Kansas–Nebraska Act repealed the

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a slave state an ...

of 1820 and allowed Kansans to vote on slavery, the opponents from both sides of the slavery debate started to recruit settlers to increase support of their causes.

Immigration to Kansas

Proslavery Proslavery is a support for slavery. It is found in the Bible, in the thought of ancient philosophers, in British writings and in American writings especially before the American Civil War but also later through 20th century. Arguments in favor o ...

immigrants aided by the Lafayette Emigration Society, and anti-slavery settlers, established their own territorial enclave (such as

Atchison Atchison may refer to: Places In the United States: * Atchison, California, a former settlement * Atchison, Kansas, a city * Atchison County, Kansas * Atchison County, Missouri People with the surname *Bob Atchison (born 1941), Canadian drag r ...

and Leavenworth), and Free-State immigrants aided by the

established theirs (such as Lawrence,

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central ...

). This circumstance resulted in a deep partisan divide in regard to the slavery question among settlers and their civic and business leaders. Then extremists on both side resorted to arms. On the pro-slavery side violence was committed by the border ruffians and on the free-state side by the

jayhawker Jayhawkers and red legs are terms that came to prominence in Kansas Territory during the Bleeding Kansas period of the 1850s; they were adopted by militant bands affiliated with the free-state cause during the American Civil War. These gangs ...

s. On November 29, 1854, border ruffians elected a pro-slavery territorial representative to Congress,

John W. Whitfield John Wilkins Whitfield (March 11, 1818 – October 27, 1879) was a territorial delegate to the United States Congress representing the Kansas Territory from 1854 until 1856. He was an officer in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, ...

. It was determined after a Congressional investigation that 60% of the votes were illegal."Bleeding Kansas"
, ''The E Pluribus Unum Project: America in the 1770s, 1850s, and 1920s,'' Assumption University On March 30, 1855, border ruffians elected a pro-slavery Territorial Legislature, which introduced harsh penalties for speaking against slavery. It was called the Bogus Legislature by Free-Staters due to the fact that border ruffians arrived ''en masse'' and there were twice as many votes cast than there were eligible voters in the Territory. Failure to ensure fair elections led to establishment of two territorial governments in Kansas, one pro-slavery and another Free State, each claiming to be the only legitimate government of the entire Territory. Despite all border ruffians' attempts to push anti-slavery settlers out of the Territory, far more Free-State immigrants moved to Kansas than pro-slavery. In 1857, the pro-slavery faction in Kansas proposed the

Lecompton Constitution The Lecompton Constitution (1859) was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas. Named for the city of Lecompton where it was drafted, it was strongly pro-slavery. It never went into effect. History Purpose The Lecompton C ...

for the future state of Kansas. It tried to get the Lecompton Constitution adopted with additional fraud and violence, but by then there were too many Free-Staters there and the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

refused to confirm it. Border ruffians also engaged in general violence against Free-State settlements. They burned farms and sometimes murdered Free-State men. Most notoriously, border ruffians twice attacked Lawrence, the Free-State capital of the Kansas Territory. On December 1, 1855, a small army of border ruffians laid siege to Lawrence, but were driven off. This became the nearly bloodless climax to the "

Wakarusa War The Wakarusa War was an armed standoff that took place in the Kansas Territory during November and December 1855. It is often cited by historians as the first instance of violence during the "Bleeding Kansas" conflict between anti-slavery and pro ...

". On May 21, 1856, an even larger force of border ruffians and pro-slavery Kansans captured Lawrence, which they sacked. Free-State settlers struck back. Anti-slavery Kansan irregulars, led by Charles R. Jennison, James Montgomery, and James H. Lane, among others, and known as

s, attacked proslavery settlers and suspected border ruffian sympathizers. Most notoriously, abolitionist John Brown killed five proslavery men at

Pottawatomie The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a me ...

. In revenge, a band of border ruffians, led by

John W. Reid John William Reid (June 14, 1821 – November 22, 1881) was a lawyer, soldier, one-time slaveholder and U.S. Representative from Missouri. Early and family life Born in 1821 near Lynchburg, Virginia. Reid married twice. By his first wife h ...

, sacked the village of

Osawatomie, Kansas Osawatomie is a city in Miami County, Kansas, United States, southwest of Kansas City. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,255. It derives its name as a portmanteau of two nearby streams, the Marais des Cygnes River (form ...

after the Battle of Osawatomie.

Aid to the Free-State cause

T. W. Higginson, a minister, was instrumental in turning the Massachusetts State Kansas Aid Committee, a former subsidiary of the

, into a nationally known organization. It worked to recruit abolitionist settlers, raised funds for them to migrate to Kansas, and equipped them with rifles to use against border ruffians. In 1856 it acquired 200

s for $4,947.88 that were shipped to Kansas via Iowa and ended in John Brown's hands. In September 1858, it invested $3,800 in 190

s for Kansas. Abolitionist Henry W. Beecher pronounced that, It was documented that in 1855-1856 various aid organizations from free states spent at least $43,074.26 on rifles, muskets, revolvers, and ammunition, including one cannon, destined for Kansas. On July 9, 1856, the Massachusetts State Kansas Committee and the

initiated the establishment of the Kansas National Aid Committee headquartered in Chicago.

Thaddeus Hyatt Thaddeus Hyatt (July 21, 1816 – July 25, 1901) was an American abolitionist and inventor. In his opposition to slavery, Hyatt organized the efforts of abolitionists in Kansas to have the territory admitted to the Union as a free-state and ca ...

, head of the national committee, began collecting money, arms, provisions, clothing, and agricultural supplies to aid the Free-State cause in Kansas. The goal was to transport five thousand settlers to Kansas Territory giving them a year's worth of supplies. A distribution depot was set up at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where immigrants were furnished not only with horses and wagons and other supplies, but also with arms; they were organized into companies and drilled. The National Kansas Committee spent in 1856-1857 around on the Free State cause.

Outcomes

On August 2, 1858, the pro-slavery

of 1857 was rejected at the polls, signifying the defeat of border ruffians' cause. On January 29, 1861, President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

signed the bill that approved the

Wyandotte Constitution The Wyandotte Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Kansas. Background The Kansas Territory was created in 1854. The largest issue by far in territorial Kansas was whether slavery was to be permitted or prohibited; aside from the ...

and Kansas came to the Union as a Free State.

During the Civil War

During the

, the violence on the Kansas-Missouri border not only continued, but escalated tremendously. Many of the former border ruffians became pro- Confederate guerrillas, or

s. They operated in western Missouri, sometimes raiding into Kansas, and Union forces campaigned to suppress them. Farms on the Missouri-Kansas state line were looted and burned. Suspected guerrillas were killed; in retaliation, bushwhackers murdered Union sympathizers and suspected informers. Confederate guerrilla leaders, such as "Bloody Bill" Anderson and

William Quantrill William Clarke Quantrill (July 31, 1837 – June 6, 1865) was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War. Having endured a tempestuous childhood before later becoming a schoolteacher, Quantrill joined a group of bandits who ...

, were feared in Kansas during the war. Many of the Union troops fighting bushwackers were former

s who held deep grudges against border ruffians. Charles R. Jennison recruited the 7th Kansas Cavalry Regiment, which became known as the Jennison's Jayhawkers. In the fall and winter of 1861 and 1862, Jennison's Jayhawkers became infamous for looting and destroying the property of Missourians. Some of the jayhawkers joined a paramilitary group called the Red Legs. Wearing red gaiters and numbered around 100, Red Legs served as scouts during the punitive expedition of the Union troops in Missouri. Jayhawkers and Red Legs pillaged and burned multiple towns in 1861–1863 in Missouri. The destruction of

Osceola, Missouri Osceola is a city in St. Clair County, Missouri, United States. The population was 909 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of St. Clair County. During the American Civil War, Osceola was the site of the Sacking of Osceola. History Located ...

, is depicted in the movie ''

The Outlaw Josey Wales ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' is a 1976 American Revisionist Western film set during and after the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood (as Josey Wales), with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Sam Bottoms, and Gerald ...

''.

References

External links

''Bad Blood, the Border War that Triggered the Civil War''
DVD documentary. Kansas City MO: Kansas City Public Television (KCPT) and Wide Awake Films, 2007.
Time Line: Bleeding Kansas
''Center for Great Plains Studies, Emporia State University'' {{Authority control Bleeding Kansas Irregular forces of the American Civil War Politically motivated migrations Kansas Territory American proslavery activists Expansion of slavery in the United States