Bleeding Kansas Play Reenactment

During the “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 student groups, 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.