History
THE NAME:
The state of Kansas was named after the river.
The Kansas River was named by the French after the Kansas, Omaha, Kaw, Osage and Dakota Sioux Indian word "KaNze" meaning, in the Kansas language "south wind." The state name for Arkansas shares its origins with Kansas.
Source: Shearer, Benjamin F. and Barbara S. State Names, Seals, Flags and Symbols Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut - 1994
THE NICKNAMES:
The Sunflower State: A reminder of the wild sunflowers that grow in profusion across the state, the Sunflower is also the official State Flower and Floral Emblem of Kansas.
The Wheat State: One of the nation's leading agricultural states, Kansas has long been known as "The Wheat State." It was number one in all wheat produced, wheat flour milled, and wheat flour milling capacity in the year 2000.
Midway, U.S.A.: Kansas has been called "Midway, U.S.A." for the very reason that it is located close to the middle of the contiguous 48 states.
The Central State: As above, Kansas has also been referred to as "The Central State."
The Cyclone State: Weather conditions conducive to the generation of tornadoes, or cyclones, earned Kansas this nickname. Kansas gets it's share of twisters, most notably memorialized in The Wizard of Oz, however, statistics since 1961 show that Oklahoma is more frequently visited by these often devastating wind storms.
The Grasshopper State: Nicknamed for the 1874 Grasshopper (Rocky Mountain Locusts) Plague, when the lush landscape of Kansas was denuded by swarms of Rocky Mountain Locusts that swept into the state in July. Millions of these "hoppers" swarmed down upon the middle section of the country from the Dakotas south to Texas. Kansans withstood the attacks and came back, in 1875, with the largest corn harvest in the state's history at that point. Perhaps calamity was one of the reasons the "Garden of the West" never caught on.
Garden of the West: Also referred to as "The Garden State," this nickname was given to the Kansas because of the beauty of the landscape and the fertility of the soil. This nickname may have been promoted by northern newspapers in attempts to lure people to the territory to counteract the pro-slavery movement in Kansas that was present in the years leading up to Kansas statehood.
The Squatter State: Kansas was referred to as the "Squatter State" because of the new settlers that flocked into the new territory establishing claims to the land. Early squatters were from the slave state of Missouri. They moved in as quickly as possible to prevent the territory from being populated by people from free states, especially those from New England. Missouri squatters organized the Squatters Claim Association in 1854 in order to secure their claims to the land and prevent emigration from the northern states. Before any arrivals from the northern free states, nearly every man in west Missouri had staked a claim in the new territory of Kansas and become a "Squatter Sovereign" of the state. Almost all desirable land that was open to settlement had been claimed by pro-slavery Missourians.
Bleeding Kansas: This name for Kansas originated in the tense years leading up to the Civil War and as the territory was being considered for statehood. At this time, states were either admitted to the Union as slave states of free states in an effort to maintain a balance of power between the two in the United States Congress. It was well known that when Kansas entered the Union, it would alter the balance of power between the free states and the slave states.
Hundreds of "outsiders" migrated to the territory to fight for pro-slavery or anti-slavery causes. Settlers from Missouri, a slave state to the east of Kansas, crossed the border to attack those who spoke out about slavery. Kansas settlers also launched raids into Missouri. The territory became known as "Bleeding Kansas" for the violent conflicts between anti-slavery and pro-slavery factions. On January 29, 1861, Kansas joined the Union as a free state.
The Battleground of Freedom: During the violent period of conflict before the Civil War, Kansas was sometimes referred to as "The Battleground of Freedom."
The Jayhawk State: This historical nickname, sometimes phrased as "The Jayhawker State," traces it's history back to 1856 and the conflicts between Kansas and Missouri during the time when Kansas earned the name "Bleeding Kansas" (see above). When an Irishman, named Pat Devlin, was asked what he was doing participating in raids crossing the border into Missouri, he replied, "You know, in Ireland we have a bird we call the Jayhawk, which makes its living off of other birds. I guess you might say I've been Jayhawking!" Originally, this term may have applied to Kansans and Missourians, alike, who were involved with these cross-border raids, but eventually the term came to refer to Kansans exclusively. Missourians became known as "bushwhackers."
The Jayhawk was later transformed into a mythical creature, a blue and red bird. Kirke Mecham wrote in his booklet, The Mythical Jayhawk, that the jayhawk "not only could change its size at will but could make itself invisible, and was immortal."
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