'Bleeding Kansas'...
Item # 700710This item is currently up for auction on eBay (item #110588487331). You’re welcome to bid there, or email us at info@rarenewspapers.com if you’d prefer to buy directly at the web-price. If it remains unsold, we’ll be in touch.
May 17, 1856
DAILY NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER, Washington, D.C., May 17, 1856
* "Bleeding Kansas" - Pre Sacking of Lawrence
Page 3 has a report headed: "The Committee of Inquiry In Kansas" which takes over half a column to detail the latest in that troubled territory, with much on events around Lawrence.
"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.
Four pages, large folio size, irregular at the spine with binding indents, otherwise good condition. The folder size noted is for the issue folded in half.
Background: This 1856 edition of the Daily National Intelligencer isn't just a newspaper; it is a primary-source time capsule capturing the exact moment the American experiment began to fracture. Within its ink-stained columns lies the "Committee of Inquiry" report—a desperate, final attempt by Congress to use the rule of law to stop the tidal wave of blood in Kansas. Printed a mere four days before the infamous Sacking of Lawrence and a week before John Brown’s retaliatory massacre, this document places you in the room as the fuse of the Civil War was lit. While the nation watched the headlines, this specific report detailed the voter fraud and guerrilla skirmishes that would soon force a choice between a Union of freedom or a Union of chains. To hold this paper is to hold the "Opening Act" of the Civil War, documenting the very chaos that turned "Bleeding Kansas" from a territorial dispute into a national tragedy.
* "Bleeding Kansas" - Pre Sacking of Lawrence
Page 3 has a report headed: "The Committee of Inquiry In Kansas" which takes over half a column to detail the latest in that troubled territory, with much on events around Lawrence.
"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.
Four pages, large folio size, irregular at the spine with binding indents, otherwise good condition. The folder size noted is for the issue folded in half.
Background: This 1856 edition of the Daily National Intelligencer isn't just a newspaper; it is a primary-source time capsule capturing the exact moment the American experiment began to fracture. Within its ink-stained columns lies the "Committee of Inquiry" report—a desperate, final attempt by Congress to use the rule of law to stop the tidal wave of blood in Kansas. Printed a mere four days before the infamous Sacking of Lawrence and a week before John Brown’s retaliatory massacre, this document places you in the room as the fuse of the Civil War was lit. While the nation watched the headlines, this specific report detailed the voter fraud and guerrilla skirmishes that would soon force a choice between a Union of freedom or a Union of chains. To hold this paper is to hold the "Opening Act" of the Civil War, documenting the very chaos that turned "Bleeding Kansas" from a territorial dispute into a national tragedy.
Item from last month's catalog - #364 - released for March, 2026.
Category: Pre-Civil War
