History of the United States I / Unit 14 USH1 1983 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Border Ruffians
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The idea
Activists on both sides flooded into Kansas in eighteen fifty-five and fifty-six, and proslavery Missourians crossing the border to vote were called border ruffians.
In practice
Estimates suggesting up to sixty percent of the votes cast in Kansas were fraudulent.
Where people slip
Popular sovereignty depends on knowing who the people are. Kansas showed that the question can be settled by whoever arrives on election day.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
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