About Kansas

Kansas takes its name from the Kansa people, a Siouan-speaking nation whose name means "people of the south wind." French explorers who encountered the Kansa along the river that now bears their name recorded it as "Kansas" or "Kansez," and the name was applied to the river and eventually the territory. When Kansas Territory was organized in 1854, it was at the center of one of the most violent political disputes in American history: the question of whether it would be admitted as a free or slave state. The resulting violence gave it the nickname "Bleeding Kansas." It was admitted as a free state in 1861, just months before the Civil War began.

Kansas occupies the geographic center of the lower 48 states, and in many ways it occupies the center of American mythology. The state's sweeping plains, its tornado-prone skies, its cattle trails and sunflower fields, and its role as the battleground where America fought its first proxy war over slavery have all lodged Kansas deep in the national imagination.

The land is flatter than its reputation, and richer. The ancient marine sediments beneath Kansas created the Ogallala Aquifer, a vast underground reservoir that irrigates one of the most productive agricultural regions on Earth. The same geology deposited the oil and natural gas fields that have powered the state's economy for over a century. And the flat, windy terrain that makes Kansas an uncomfortable place to cross at highway speed is ideal for growing wheat and generating wind power.

Politically, Kansas has been reliably Republican for most of its history, a legacy of the Civil War and its free-state origins. But the state has shown flashes of independence, electing Democratic governors in recent years even as it votes heavily Republican in federal races. Its motto captures something true about the Kansan character: whatever difficulties arise, the stars are still out there.