The Past in Pieces: Tales of the Missouri-Kansas Border War

This episode explores the culture and political economy of antebellum slavery in Independence, Missouri through the story of Jabez Smith. A Santa Fe trader and businessman from Pittsylvania Co, Virginia, Smith was emblematic of Missouri’s slaveholding elite. The social and political power of these proslavery elites contributed to escalating tensions along the Kansas-Missouri divide during the sect...

During the Missouri Kansas Border War, the University of Missouri was transformed into a union camp, even housing Confederate soldiers. This episode explores the lesser-known history of the University of Missouri and its war-stricken past. We start at the beginning and learn the hardships and how close the university came to closing. Then we see who and what saved the university and how the town o...

The first casualty of the Border War was killed because of a dispute regarding a tract of timber. Yet if the first death was as unremarkable as the land survey detailing his land, history would not remember him. Charles Dow's death, although unremarkable at the time, would cause for a spiraling ruthless guerilla conflict to take place. But what were the natural causes for this death? And why was t...

Bridges have long represented connection, expansion, and progress, but they also reveal division, conflict, and collapse. This podcast episode examines two Missouri bridges, the Gasconade Bridge and the Hannibal Bridge, and the very different stories they tell about the Civil War era and westward expansion. Through disaster, political violence, competition, and reconstruction, this episode explore...

George Caleb Bingham made a legacy for himself painting the landscape and people of Missouri. His military magnum opus, Order No. 11 , has become the symbol through which many interpret the events of the Border War. This episode explores the feuds and violence behind the painting. Written and narrated by Cruz Lewis Recording Engineer: Liam Arnzen Postproduction: Kyle Jackson Theme song and music:...

When people think of the most traumatic incidents of the Border War, the two raids on Lawrence, Kansas, often come to mind. To people in many small towns in Missouri, however, the devastation hit closer to home. This episode unpacks the history of one such Missouri town: Osceola. There, locals still remember and lament a devastating assault by Jayhawkers that left their once-bustling river port in...

In this episode, host Carolina Rodriguez Rios explores the human side of the Missouri–Kansas Border War through the letters and personal writings of ordinary people living through the Civil War era. Moving beyond famous battles and political speeches, “Pen, Paper, and the Nation in the Margins” examines how communication carried not only news, but fear, hope, gossip, and personal reflection, and e...

When we think about the Border War, we imagine bloodshed and generals, but for families living among the Missouri-Kansas conflict, the war unfolded inside homes, letters, and personal relationships. Through the McKown family correspondence housed at the State Historical Society of Missouri, this episode explores the commonly untold story of the civilian experience. A special thanks goes to SHSMO a...

In typical histories, women are often described as wives, daughters, and sisters to the more important male figures. This trend traces back centuries and has only recently been called into question. So who were the women of the Border War, and how did they contribute to both sides of the conflict? As this episode reveals, women were much more pivotal to that history than once thought or taught. Wr...

The Sacking of Lawrence and Quantrill's Raid: two atrocities committed during the Kansas-Missouri Border War. This episode examines the legacy of this violence, and how it has been shaped, distorted, and forgotten. It turns out the narrative of violence and the wider context of the times often matter as much as the violence itself.   Written and narrated by Thomas Bruns Recording Engineer: Liam Ar...

The state of Kansas is known for its vast fields of golden wheat, but that wasn’t always the case. Join us on this episode of The Past in Pieces , where we tell the story of the border region’s unsung underdogs and their journey from struggle in the Russian Empire to success in the Great Plains of America. Written and narrated by Maxwell Hunt Recording Engineer: Liam Arnzen Postproduction: Kyle Ja...

From 1839 to 1862, the Shawnee Indian Mission Manual Labor School operated just along the border in Fairway, Kansas. The school came up during a time of immense change in the Borderlands, as colonization in "Indian Country" and pre-Civil War tensions were both intensifying. Under the guise of education, the school forcefully suppressed Indigenous ways of life, a project viewed as "noble" by advoca...

The idea that religion influenced the Civil War is far from unheard of, but this episode centers on how faith operated uniquely along the Kansas-Missouri border. Faith was the justification for countless acts of violence and political action during the Border War era, from John Brown’s staunchly religious rhetoric to congregations across Kansas and Missouri denouncing or defending slavery; religio...

In this episode, we follow the journey of a Black man named George Washington, who escaped slavery in Missouri. After crossing into the Kansas Territory, Washington became one of the first Black soldiers to fight in the Civil War. His story leads us to the First Kansas Colored Infantry, the first Black Union regiment to see combat in the conflict.    Written and narrated by Asia Smith Recording En...

The Missouri-Kansas border war is typically remembered through the figureheads of the conflict. The sacking of Lawrence, carried out by William Quantrill and his Confederate guerrillas, General Order No. 11, facilitated by the U.S. government, and those who have become legends posthumously, such as Jesse James or 'Bloody' Bill Anderson, are among its most iconic moments and individuals. However, m...

There has been significant scholarship and widespread attention devoted to John Brown. But what about those who fought alongside him? This episode focuses on August Bondi, a Jewish man who was born in Europe and ended up in Kansas just in time for the Border War. An influential but largely unknown figure, August Bondi wanted his story to be told.   Written and narrated by Iliana Farrell Recording...