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'Bleeding Kansas'...



Item # 696509

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May 12, 1856

DAILY NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER, Washington, D.C., May 12, 1856  

* Bleeding Kansas
* Missouri border invasion
* War on slavery


Page 3 has nearly half a column of reports, mostly letters datelined from Lawrence, Kansas, concerning the growing troubles in that state over the slavery, anti-slavery residents. The full text is shown in the photos.
Bleeding Kansas describes the period of repeated outbreaks of violent guerrilla warfare between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces following the creation of the new territory of Kansas in 1854. In all, some 56 people were killed between 1855 and 1859.
Nice having these reports in this famous newspaper from the nation's capital.
Four pages, large folio size, nice condition. The folder size noted is for the issue folded in half.

background: The May 12, 1856, edition of the Daily National Intelligencer serves as a chilling legislative and social ledger, recording the final moments of "peace" before Kansas descended into open civil war. Published just over a week before the infamous Sack of Lawrence, these letters from the front lines likely detailed the legal maneuvering of pro-slavery Sheriff Samuel Jones and the arrival of the "Border Ruffians" who claimed to be acting as a federal posse. Because this was the "paper of record" in Washington, D.C., the half-column of reports you've identified wouldn't have just been news to the public; they were the primary intelligence being read by the very Congressmen whose heated rhetoric would soon culminate in the physical caning of Senator Charles Sumner on the Senate floor. The large folio size and crisp condition of your copy preserve a moment where "Popular Sovereignty" was transitioning from a political theory into a violent reality, marking the true point of no return for the American Union.

Item from last month's catalog - #363 released for February, 2026.

Category: Pre-Civil War