Kansas Stamp
BEYOND THE WALL
A closer look.
Details to notice. Connections to explore.
A stamp enlarged
The design draws on U.S. postage stamp 1061, issued in 1954.
Source
Kansas Murals directory record Based on the directory’s recorded details.A territorial centennial
The stamp marked 100 years since the establishment of Kansas Territory.
Source
Kansas Murals directory record Based on the directory’s recorded details.The artist behind it
The directory credits William Counter for Kansas Stamp.
Source
Kansas Murals directory record Based on the directory’s recorded details.Its Kansas setting
This mural is recorded at 501 Court Street, Clay Center, KS, USA.
Source
Kansas Murals directory record Based on the directory’s recorded details.
Description
U.S. Stamp #1061 (Issued May 31, 1954)
Featuring bending wheat fields and a covered wagon train, this postage stamp was issued to mark the 100-year anniversary of the Kansas Territory.
Established on May 30, 1854, the Kansas Territory would experience a period of civil unrest lasting several years. In the election of 1855, citizens from neighboring Missouri came to Kansas and voted, seeking to bolster pro-slavery candidates.
The city of Lawrence, KS would be sacked in May 1856 by pro-slavery settlers, igniting more guerrilla conflict. Competing territorial governments were operating at the time, each propelled by their stance on the issue of slavery. In June 1856, Governor Wilson Shannon temporarily left the Kansas Territory, not wanting to deal with the volatile dispute. On July 4, 1856 hundreds of US Army troops were moved to Topeka to prevent the Free State legislature from assembling.
The exploits of abolitionist John Brown and his followers would become widely published during this time as frequent raids and violence gave rise to the moniker ‘Bloody Kansas’.
Regrettably, this regional turbulence would foreshadow the coming national conflict. Kansas would achieve statehood on January 29, 1861. At that time, several southern states had already seceded from the Union. Within weeks, the American Civil War had erupted.
