Peace along the Missouri/Kansas border

John Brown at the center of “Bleeding Kansas”

This painting , Tragic Prelude, by John Steuart Curry is from the Kansas state capitol.

After our last discussion in class, (and because I sadly could not find enough information on black Confederate soldiers), I decided to blog about the tensions between people in Missouri and Kansas. On the “MO/KS Border War Network” website [1] I found a podcast given by Deb Barker in March of this year. Barker is the executive director of a historical society in Kansas, and is also the curator of the Old Depot Museum in Ottawa, Kansas.

In this discussion, Barker highlights the lives of two men who felt differently about political matters, but were able to live peaceably within their counties. As Jeremy Neely argued in the chapter excerpt that we read of The Border Between Them:  Violence and Reconciliation on the Kansas-Missouri Line, neighbors who took opposing political stands did not often get along—to put it lightly.

Dr. Joseph Cusick lived in Peoria, Kansas, Franklin County respectively. He was strongly pro-slavery. In July of 1860, Peoria was holding its annual Fourth of July celebration. Dr. Cusick was in attendance. At these celebrations, which occurred across the territory, (Kansas was not a state yet), cannons were fired, a rousing speech was orated and the Declaration of Independence was usually read. That year in Peoria a noted attorney, Daniel Valentine, was asked to make a speech. During this speech, in which he mentioned slavery in a negative light, Valentine recorded that Dr. Cusick could not even listen, mounted his horse and left the celebration. A former resident of Cass County, Dr. Cusick had been a slave owner but was regarded by Judge Valentine, and the citizens of Peoria, as an upstanding man.

At the same time, another pro-slaver by the name of Joab Bernard was not silent about his political views. Bernard lived essentially by himself in St. Bernard County, what Barker refers to as a, “one house town,” with the house being Joab Bernard’s. He was a trader whose store in Westport had been destroyed by anti-slavery men affiliated with the abolitionist John Brown. Even after this unrest, Bernard chose to stay for over ten years and was an active member of the Westport community; his uncle was also the mayor of Westport, Missouri. Barker states how remarkable it is that Bernard could live among free-staters and be outspokenly for slavery. In fact, a nearby town held a meeting to determine whether or not they would be anti- or pro-slavery. Bernard was the single vote for pro-slavery, but simply went about his business as usual after being overruled. Being the only voice in his home county of St. Bernard no doubt helped to appease him.

The lives of these men are significant when you consider the violent upheaval that was present during their time. These men had lived through Bleeding Kansas, they had witnessed the unrest. Yet somehow the towns that they were a part of agreed to live in peace with them. Dr. Cusick was not hiding his pro-slavery views when he publicly left the town Fourth of July gathering. That was an open and clear view of his sentiments. Similarly, Joab Bernard voted in plain sight for a slave county. Both of these are bold moves. Perhaps they felt so strongly about the issue of slavery that it gave them the courage to make, what could be viewed as, foolish stands. Or perhaps by this time, both sides were mutually tired of civil discontent, although that being the case, the border violence would have ceased before the Civil War began making the Missouri/Kansas conflict lose some of its significance. In any case, this podcast revealed valuable information concerning the border tensions, and welcome news of peaceable neighbors.

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[1] http://www.moksbwn.net/DBarker1.html