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Title: Territory of Kansas vs. Charles Robinson
Description: These are legal documents filed in the 1857 case of the Territory of Kansas vs. Charles Robinson for the charge of usurpation of office. They include the official indictment, witness subpoenas, a motion to quash the charges, and a summary of grand jury testimony. Also included is a warrant for the arrest of Charles Robinson; addressed to the Sheriff of Douglas County, Kansas, it reads: “You are hereby commanded to arrest Charles Robinson, and have his body before the Judge of the First District Court . . . to answer an indictment found against him for unlawfully assuming and taking upon himself the Office of Governor of the Territory of Kansas.”
Object Type: Legal Document
Date: 1857

Title: Stephen A. Douglas
Description: Black and white portrait of Stephen Douglas, Senator from Illinois and designer of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Object Type: Image

Title: A Defence of Republicanism
Description: This address, titled "A Defense of Republicanism," was delivered by John Johnson, former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, to the Kansas City Republican Club on September 15, 1860. In the address, Johnson attempts to dispel false beliefs about Republican principles, including the accusations that the party "will destroy your property in negroes should it come into power," and that "the Republican party is a negro stealing party." Johnson also expresses Republican support of the Lincoln-Hamlin ticket.
Object Type: Speech

Title: From Thomas Swords to John Dougherty
Description: This letter, dated June 25, 1856, is from Col. Thomas Swords in New York to Maj. John Dougherty. Swords expresses regret that the Kansas-Nebraska Act has resulted in conflict for Kansas Territory. He describes the Kansas-Nebraska Act as "a most just one" that "should have been carried out in the right spirit," and he voices hope that the future will bring peace to Kansas.
Date: June 25, 1856

Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict, 1854-1865