Summer Reading Challenge Book Review 4

I have finished reading another book, and like the previous three books I read, this book was also on my reading list for my fall history class. This time, I read Bleeding Kansas: Contested Liberty In The Civil War Era by Nicole Etcheson (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2004).

As you can tell from the book's title, this book is about Kansas' struggle to become a state before and during the American Civil War, and the civil war-like fighting that led to Kansas being called "Bleeding Kansas." The author argues that the fighting in Kansas was originally concerned with the rights of white people but that the fighting eventually resulted in concerns for the rights of African-Americans as well. She also argues that Kansas would led the way in the nation in granting rights to African-Americans during the Civil War. The author also ties in the fighting in Kansas with other events that occurred elsewhere in the United States during this time period.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would. The book was fairly easy to read, and I think the average person would be able to read and enjoy the book. Before I read this book, I only had a basic understanding of Bleeding Kansas from reading textbooks, but after reading this book, I have a better understanding of what occurred in Kansas in the mid-to-late-1850s. (I should note that although I will be working with the author in the fall, she did not ask me to read her book. I am reading this book ahead of time for my fall history class. I will be writing reviews of the other history books that I still have to read for the class.)

(As a side note, this post happens to be the 1,000th post since I started this blog!)