Eli Thayer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eli Thayer
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 9th district |
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| In office March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1861 |
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| Preceded by | Alexander De Witt |
| Succeeded by | Goldsmith Bailey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 11, 1819 Mendon, Massachusetts |
| Died | April 15, 1899 (aged 79) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Republican |
| Children | John A. Thayer, Clara Thayer (Mrs. Charles H. Perry M.D.), Ida M. Thayer. |
| Alma mater | Worcester Academy, 1840; Brown University, 1845 |
Eli Thayer (born June 11, 1819 – died April 15, 1899) was an important person in American history. He was a teacher, a reformer (someone who works for change), and a legislator (a lawmaker). He also founded the New England Emigrant Aid Company.
Thayer played a big part in the politics of Kansas during a time called Bleeding Kansas. This was when people argued fiercely about whether Kansas would allow slavery. In 1854, the U.S. Congress passed the Kansas–Nebraska Act. This law said that the people living in Kansas would vote to decide if slavery would be allowed there.
Because of this, many people rushed to Kansas. These included people who supported slavery, and those who wanted Kansas to be a free state (without slavery). Everyone wanted to gain power to decide Kansas's future. Thayer is most famous for his work with the New England Emigrant Aid Company. Their goal was to send as many people who wanted Kansas to be free as possible to settle there.
Eli Thayer also served in the United States House of Representatives from 1857 to 1861. After his time in Congress, he became a businessman. Thayer passed away in Worcester, Massachusetts on April 15, 1899.
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Eli Thayer's Early Life and Education
Eli Thayer was born in Mendon, Massachusetts, on June 11, 1819. He went to local public schools and then Bellingham High School. He also attended the Academy of Amherst.
In 1840, he graduated from Worcester Academy. Later, in 1845, he graduated from Brown University. He was the second-highest-ranking student in his class. After college, Thayer went back to Worcester Academy to teach. He was quickly promoted to headmaster. From 1847 to 1849, Thayer was the principal of the academy. In 1849, he left Worcester Academy to start a college for women called Oread College (now Oread Institute).
Eli Thayer's Political Journey
Even though Thayer was allowed to practice law in Massachusetts, he never did. He became an alderman (a local government official) in Worcester from 1852 to 1853.
In 1853 and 1854, he was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. While there, he created and got approval for the New England Emigrant Aid Company. The company's goal was to help people from New England move and settle in Kansas. The idea was that these settlers could then vote to make Kansas a free state, without slavery, when it became a state. Thayer received a portion of all the money the Company collected.
Thayer was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served two terms, from March 4, 1857, to March 3, 1861. He tried to get elected to Congress again in 1872 but was not successful.
Understanding Bleeding Kansas
Eli Thayer and his New England Emigrant Aid Company played a big part in the conflict known as Bleeding Kansas. This was a violent border war between Kansas and Missouri. The term "Bleeding Kansas" was first used by Horace Greeley, a newspaper editor. It described the violence happening in the Kansas territory in the mid-1850s.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was an agreement that said slavery would not be allowed in the Louisiana Territory north of a certain line. This line was called the Missouri Compromise Line. However, Missouri itself was allowed to be a slave state. To balance this, Maine was admitted as a free state.
When the Kansas–Nebraska Act was passed in 1854, it canceled the Missouri Compromise. This made many people in the North very upset. They worried that people from Missouri would cross into Kansas and take all the good land. Northerners also felt that slavery was becoming too powerful. They saw that the President, his Cabinet, Congress, and the Supreme Court of the United States all seemed to support slavery. Many thought it was almost certain that slavery would spread across the United States.
Thayer came up with an idea he called "business antislavery." His Emigrant Aid Company aimed to help people who wanted Kansas to be free. The company was officially set up in Massachusetts to "assist emigrants to settle in the West." Thayer's plan helped New Englanders move to Kansas to prevent slavery. It also helped move extra people and immigrants from New England.
The plan was for these settlers to start new businesses that would make money for the Company. Towns like Lawrence, Topeka, Manhattan, and Osawatomie, Kansas were all settled with help from Thayer's company. Thayer believed there was more money in the North than in the South. He felt that by forming the Company, settlers would have a comfortable life. The Company would also earn good profits from its investments. He saw it as a win-win situation.
Thayer hoped that once Kansas was free, they could help other southern areas in a similar way. He believed investing in the Company was better than the "crack of the blacksnake (whip)" (a symbol of slavery). Thayer's slogan became "Saw-mills and Liberty!" This was widely shared in New England newspapers. Between 1854 and 1856, Thayer's Company sent about 2,000 settlers to Kansas Territory.
By May 1857, many in the Company felt they had achieved their goals in Kansas. Thayer then started other projects. He helped create a free labor colony in Ceredo, Virginia (now West Virginia). However, after John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, many investors and potential settlers became scared. The start of the Civil War eventually ended this project.
In the North, Thayer was praised for helping make Kansas a free state. But some people also blamed him for causing the violence in Kansas. In the South, the Company was often called "Eli Thayer & Co.," and some people even offered money for Thayer's capture. In Missouri and the South, Thayer was seen as a "criminal" for helping Kansas become a free state. In 1887, Thayer wrote a book called A History of the Kansas Crusade: Its Friends and Its Foes. In this book, he took a lot of credit for Kansas becoming free from slavery.
Images for kids
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Thayer in his later years
