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Lawson Wilson to Lewis Allen Alderson

These three letters are from Lawson Wilson in Lincoln County, North Carolina, to his friend, Lewis Allen Alderson, a student at the University of Ohio in Athens. In his letters, Wilson reminisces about time spent in Athens and seeks news about his old acquaintances. Wilson states that "Nullification has been making a great noise in the South," regarding the ability of individual states to abolish federal laws, particularly relating to tariffs and slave laws in South Carolina. He also mentions that the gold mines in the region are making "a great bustle" and congratulates Alderson on his recent marriage. Alderson moved to Atchison, Kansas, in 1858 and was a prominent Baptist minister. He died in Atchison in 1881.

Dorothea Dix correspondence

Dix, Dorothea Lynde, 1802-1887

Dorothea Dix's papers consist of correspondence from Miss Dix to various people, as well as some correspondence in which Miss Dix was concerned, but not directly involved. Dix was an advocate for social welfare, particularly supporting the establishment and maintenance of mental hospitals for the mentally ill, disabled, or poor. She was instrumental in the proposed legislation of the "Bill for the Benefit of the Indigent Insane." During the Civil War, Dix was appointed Superintendent of Army Nurses. Much of the correspondence concerns Dix's efforts to bring lifeboats and other help to Sable Island in Nova Scotia, an area known for shipwrecks and where many with mental illnesses were sent, sometimes against their will. These papers are part of the historic psychiatry material in the Menninger Archives.

Fern Gayden

This is a photograph of Fern Gayden possibly taken in Dunlap, Kansas. Fern Gayden was born September 29, 1904, in Dunlap, Kansas, where she attended elementary and secondary schools. She went on to attend Kansas State Teachers College at Emporia and taught school for one year. Fern Gayden moved to Chicago at the age of 23. She had a 50-year career as a social worker but became best known as a literary, fine arts, and political activist. A founding member of the South Side Writers Group in the 1930s, Fern Gayden's long and diverse career included leadership roles in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and the South Side Community Art Center. During World War II, she co-published Negro Story magazine with Alice Browning.

Joan of Arc of the coal fields, near Pittsburg, Kansas

New York Times

This newspaper clipping, from the New York Times, features a fourteen year old girl dubbed "The Joan of Arc of the Coal Fields." The daughter of a coal striker in southeast Kansas, she carried the American flag at the head of 6,000 marchers. The group of protesters marched through the coal fields showing their support for better wages and improved working conditions for their family members who worked in the camps.

A.S. Wilson to Henry J. Allen

Kansas. Governor (1919-1923 : Allen)

A.S. Wilson, an attorney in Galena, Kansas, writes to Governor Henry J. Allen to indicate his interest in a law that would allow second class cities to separate the schools based on "white and colored children." He included a petition with signatures with the letter.

Alfred Larzelere

Alfred Larzelere of Doniphan County was active in free state politics. He served as speaker of the Kansas House in 1859 and as a delegate to the Leavenworth constitutional convention. He was also a member of the Free State Central committee.

Charles Monroe Sheldon

Charles Monroe Sheldon, pastor of Central Congregational Church in Topeka, Kansas, organized the first Black kindergarten west of the Mississippi River. It was known as the Tennesseetown Kindergarten. He is best known for his novel "In His Steps" or "What Would Jesus Do?"

Jonathan Crews to Thomas Nesbit Stinson

Crews, Jonathan

Jonathan Crews, writing from LaPorte, Indiana, expressed strong proslavery views on the situation in Kansas. Crews described his trip home to Indiana from Kansas and discussed several Indiana court cases involving his business interests.

Paul Robeson in concert, Topeka Municipal Auditorium

This program describes a concert by Paul Robeson at the municipal auditorium in Topeka, Kansas. Robeson was assisted by pianists William Schatzkamer and Lawrence Brown. Robeson was a well-known civil rights activist and musician who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. He sang primarily classical music but closed the program with Negro folk songs.

First Thanksgiving Sermon

McVicar, Peter, 1829-1903

This sermon by Rev. Peter McVicar's sermons is entitled "First Thanksgiving Sermon." It was delivered in Topeka on November 29, 1860, just weeks after he assumed the pastorate of the Congregational Church. McVicar focused on the concept that God's blessings were not to be measured by the accumulation of money or property, making specific comments about Kansas. He suggested, for example, that citizens of Kansas Territory who gathered together on that day should be especially thankful for the hardships endured by "early" settlers in order to establish freedom from slavery.