“Bleeding Kansas” play reenactment by the Lecompton Reenactors
You will travel back in time to meet some of the territorial characters of the Kansas territorial period in a simulated political town hall meeting in Historic Lecompton.
The one-hour performance portion of the tour is set in an 1850s Kansas territorial political town hall meeting. Actors from the Lecompton Reenactors troupe will portray some of the famous Kansans from that turbulent time period known as “Bleeding Kansas.” Join free state Governor Charles Robinson and his wife Sara Robinson, radical free state leader Jim Lane, abolitionist John Brown, women’s rights advocates Clarina Nichols and Louise Brown, Sheriff Samuel Jones, Senator David Atchison, Governor Andrew Reeder, proslavery editor John Stringfellow, border ruffian Felix Castor, Pottawatomie Creek Massacre widows Mahala Doyle and Louisa Jane Wilkinson, Wakarusa War widow Matilda Barber, among others as they passionately express their feelings on the issue of slavery in Kansas, both pro and con. The program also includes a visit to Constitution Hall State Historic Site, the Territorial Capital/Lane Museum and Democratic Headquarters.
The play can be performed for adult groups and for students. Call ahead to schedule!
For adult groups please call for scheduling: Contact Constitution Hall 785-887-6520, or the Territorial Capital Museum 785-887-6148. The price is $15 per person, which includes the play and tour of both Lecompton museums. Lots of food options if you visit during lunch time. Call for details. For school groups, see below.
STUDENTS – If it is for students, this tour addresses grade specific standards for middle school students (but applicable for all elementary and high school grade levels) and provides material to help teachers fulfill those standards. Pre-visit materials can be accessed at Territorial Characters.
Standards addressed:
Kansas History, Government and Social Studies Standards:
Standard #3: Societies are shaped by beliefs, ideas, and diversity.
- 3.1: The students will recognize and evaluate significant beliefs, contributions, and ideas of the many diverse peoples and groups and their impact on individuals, communities, states, and nations.
- 3.2: The students will draw conclusions about significant beliefs, contributions, and ideas, analyzing the origins and context under which these competing ideas were reached and the multiple perspectives from which they come.
Kansas College and Career Ready Standards:
- RH.6-8.2: The students will determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
- RH.6-8.6: The students will identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
- SL.7.1: The students will engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
- SL.7.3: The students will delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, evaluating the soundness of the reasoning and the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.
- WHST.6-8.4: The students will produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
For school groups, the cost per student is $5. One adult enters free for every 25 students. Additional adults pay the student rate.
Length of tour: approximately 2.0 – 4.0 hours for the performance, and visits to Constitution Hall State Historic Site, the Territorial Capital/Lane Museum, Democratic HQ and lunch break.
Number of students in a group: For the best experience, we recommend 80 students but no more than 200 students for the performance and guided tours.
Registration and scheduling: Contact Constitution Hall 785-887-6520, or the Territorial Capital/Lane Museum 785-887-6148