Making Kansas Bleed: Find out what events led to the tumultuous time period when the territory was known nationally as “Bleeding Kansas.” The conflict builds as slaveholders, politicians and railroad proponents vie for their share of legislation in the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. The bloody events that follow are considered by many to be the beginnings of the Civil War.John Brown: Look at the life of one of the most controversial figures of the territorial era. John Brown was a virtual failure throughout his life, until he made his way to Kansas Territory and took up thecause of abolition. His vehemence—and some say fanatic extremism—was responsible for some of the era’s most violent encounters. Border Wars Today: Explore the nature of the Border Wars and examine how the conflict between Kansas and Missouri manifests itself today. Writers Tom Averill and Whitney Terrell, a Kansan and a Missourian respectfully, discuss the ways in which the two states come together, both in the sports arena and in everyday life.