New England Emigrant Aid Company facts for kids
The New England Emigrant Aid Company was a special group started in Boston, Massachusetts. It was first called the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company. This company was founded by a person named Eli Thayer in the 1850s. Its main goal was to help people who were against slavery move to the Kansas Territory.
At that time, a new law called the Kansas–Nebraska Act let people in new territories decide if they wanted slavery or not. The company believed that if enough people who were against slavery moved to Kansas, they could vote to make it a free state. This meant Kansas would join the United States without slavery.
Even though the company didn't send as many people as planned, it had a big effect. It made people who supported slavery, called "border ruffians" from nearby Missouri, also move to Kansas. They wanted Kansas to become a slave state. This led to a lot of fighting and trouble, which became known as Bleeding Kansas.
Eli Thayer first wanted the company to make money by selling land. But some investors didn't like the idea of profiting from the fight against slavery. So, in 1855, the company changed its name to the New England Emigrant Aid Company. It became a group that helped people without trying to make a profit.
Why the Company Started
The company was formed during a time of great tension in the United States. This was before the American Civil War. Many people in the Northern states worried that the idea of "popular sovereignty" would spread slavery. Popular sovereignty meant that people in each new state could choose if they allowed slavery.
When the Kansas–Nebraska Act suggested this idea for the new Kansas Territory, Eli Thayer had an idea. In the winter of 1853–1854, he thought of creating an Emigrant Aid Company. He worked with Alexander H. Bullock and Edward Everett Hale. They started his plans on March 5, 1854.
Thayer announced the company at a meeting in Worcester on March 11. Soon after, the Massachusetts government approved the company. It could raise up to $5,000,000 to help its cause.
At first, the company was meant to make money. But many people who were against slavery questioned this idea. They felt it was wrong to profit from such an important cause. So, in 1855, the company changed its focus. It became a group that helped people for good reasons, not for money. It was then renamed the New England Emigrant Aid Company.
How People Reacted
The idea of the New England Emigrant Aid Company inspired others. Similar groups started in places like New York and Ohio. These new companies, like the Worcester County Emigrant Aid Society, also aimed to help settlers.
What the Company Achieved
The New England Emigrant Aid Company helped create several towns in Kansas. These included Lawrence and Manhattan. It also played a big part in starting Topeka and Osawatomie. Lawrence was even named after the company's secretary, Amos Adams Lawrence.
Many important people who moved to Kansas with the company's help later became politicians. Some of these were Daniel Read Anthony, Charles L. Robinson, Samuel C. Pomeroy, and Martin F. Conway. Martin F. Conway later became Kansas's first representative in the U.S. Congress.
The exact number of people who moved to Kansas because of the company is not fully known. Some historians believe around 2,000 people moved, with about a third returning home. However, the Kansas Historical Society suggests about 900 people moved to Kansas in 1855 alone.
In the end, the company's main goal was successful. Kansas joined the United States as a free state in 1861. This happened after Southern politicians left Congress to form the Confederate government.
