Topeka, Kansas

          It was the beginning of the week, and I was heading toward Kansas: the state of “Home on the Range,” Toto and Dorothy, and The Little House on the Prairie. Having thoroughly enjoyed my experience in Lincoln, I was looking forward to another state of a similar mentality. I spent most of the drive enjoying the scenery, and reveling in the journey. I arrived in Kansas in the early evening, and cooked myself dinner. The next morning I woke up on the earlier side, and discovered that the shower in my hotel room did not drain at all. I went down to the front desk to sort out the issue, but by the time the maintenance guy came up to fix it, it was two hours later. I was not terribly pleased with the way my morning started, but I drove to the Capitol determined to lift my spirits.

            When I turned the corner and the dome came into view I was astonished to see the entire structure covered in scaffolding. I definitely did not expect to encounter such a massive renovation, and their website conveniently failed to mention that the work was being done. I walked around the perimeter of the building, melting in the Kansas sun. It was the beginning of October and I could only imagine what it must be like during the dog days of summer. By the time I reached the only open entrance, I was happy to be inside. I complied with the usual security measures, and asked the policeman about the renovation. He sighed and said that it had been going on for about ten years, but thankfully they only had a few more months left to go. “Ten years!” I exclaimed, “That’s a long time for a renovation!”

“Yes, yes it is,” He replied with a grim, weary look on his face, as if the ordeal had robbed him of all the pleasure his job once held.

            I hurried over to the information desk, where I signed the guestbook and asked about guided tours. I was told that a tour had just left, but if I ran up to the fourth floor, I might be able to catch them in the chambers. I took “the cage,” and old-fashioned, original elevator complete with operator. I entered, requested level four, and grinned as the operator close the door. The trip was short and sweet, and I thanked the operator and she promptly shut the door behind me. I hurried around the balconies surrounding the rotunda, stopping briefly to take a peak at the glorious view before rushing to join the tour.

            The guide was speaking about the furniture and other features of the house chamber, and did not miss a beat as I approached. Two older couples were listening attentively, but as soon as there was a pause in the guide’s description, they all asked me my name, where I was from, and what the purpose of my visit was. I quickly explained my trip, and one of the women immediately started asking me about different Capitol buildings I’d been to. She told me a story about her visit to the South Carolina Capitol, where she and her husband witnessed a once in a lifetime spectacle. Only a winch supported the reproduction chandeliers in the Senate chamber, and it was also used to lower and raise them for cleaning and changing the bulbs. As the couple was entering the senate chamber while on a tour, workers were lifting one of the 1,000-pound chandeliers after cleaning it. Part of the way up, the cable suddenly snapped, and the enormous fixture came crashing to the floor with a resounding boom. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the glass bulbs shattered, the fixture was in pieces, and 3 or 4 desks that took the hit were broken as well.

            Next we went to the law library, where a number of people were working in peaceful silence. The room contained two-story bookshelves that went right through the second floor. To reach the higher shelves, we had to climb up a small stairway and stand on the frosted glass floor above. It was a little unnerving, but the design was downright cool. The room maintained its functionality on the first floor, while the second floor provided access to the additional storage on the higher shelves. It was definitely one of my favorite law libraries I had been to so far.

  Next we examined some paintings in the main hallways of the building. Right next to ‘the cage,’ there is a mural depicting John Brown, an abolitionist that became famous for his violent contributions to the slavery conflict. Although he first attempted to fight slavery through nonviolent means such as being a part of the Underground Railroad, John Brown eventually resorted to violence, and he is remembered mostly for those exploits. John Brown and his cronies murdered 5 pro-slavery men in the Pottawatomie Massacre of 1856. They dragged them from their homes in Pottawatomie, Kansas, brought them into the forest, and bludgeoned them with broad swords. Apparently, several pro-slavery men carried out a similar attack a few days before, but Brown’s actions became much more famous. What followed was a series of retaliations that resulted in the deaths of 29 people.

Several months later in August of 1856, 300 Missouri men under the command of Major General John W. Reid marched into Kansas with the intention of destroying abolitionist communities. They killed John Brown’s son, Frederick, and his neighbor David Garrison on the outskirts of Osawatomie, Kansas. Brown organized 38 men and led a resistance that was outnumbered by more than seven to one. They managed to kill twenty of Reid’s men and wound forty more of them before they were forced to retreat into the woods while the Missourians destroyed Osawatomie. Although they were unsuccessful in protecting their town, their courage earned them respect and John Brown the nickname “Osawatomie Brown.”

The controversy surrounding ‘bleeding Kansas,’ translated directly to the painting when it was first finished. It showed John Brown standing on the Prairie with an aggressive look on his face while holding a broad sword. I can certainly understand why Kansans would be offended by the glorification of John Brown because of his contribution to the violence at the beginning of Kansas’ history. I do not approve of John Brown’s methods, but if it wasn’t for the violent nature of the conflicts in Kansas, the horror of slavery may have persisted longer than it did.

            We continued to the Supreme Court Chamber, which no longer serves its original purpose, but is used as a committee room instead. On our way over, I noticed the banisters on the stairs and how beautiful they were. Certain details like that really make up the Capitol’s character, and each one designs them a little differently. The old Supreme Court Chamber was kind of plain but very pleasant. After our stop there the official tour was over but since I missed the very beginning of the tour, I went back to the Senate Chamber to check it out. It was prettier than the House Chamber, and while all the furniture in the House Chamber were reproductions, the furniture in the Senate Chamber was original. I was impressed by the decoration throughout the building, and even though the renovation had taken more than ten years, it was clearly worth the work.

            After visiting the Capitol, I went to a local taco joint for lunch. The inside looked kind of old school with the hard booths and wooden paneling on the walls. It reminded me of a few different sandwich and pizza places I’d been to in upstate New York where I vacationed with my family in the summers.  I ordered at the front, and a few minutes later I walked back up to retrieve my fare and pay for it. The burrito was piping hot and incredibly messy, but it was delicious and inexpensive. I ate quickly and left a short while later feeling satisfied and ready to write for the rest of the evening.

            The next day, I woke up, packed up my stuff, checked out of my hotel, and went to the Kansas Museum of History. It was just a short way from my hotel, tucked away from the busy streets down a long driveway in a green, wooded area. I paid the nominal entrance fee, and began exploring. It was all on one floor, but the area was huge. It was very dimly it, and but the displays were set up so that I had a very clear idea of where I was supposed to go next. After describing the Native Americans indigenous to the area and the early pioneers who settled the region, the exhibit turned its attention to the Civil War.

Kansas was the other territory that was defined with the signing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act

. After the law allowed white male citizens in the region to decide the matter of slavery by popular sovereignty, antislavery and pro-slavery advocates flooded into the area to sway the decision either way, and a massive amount of bloodshed ensued. Stephen Douglas, an Illinois Senator, crafted the Kansas-Nebraska act in order to open up thousands of new farms and build a Midwestern transcontinental railroad. The addition of allowing slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty destroyed any possible positive results that could have come from the bill, and instead it cost many lives and Franklin Pierce his reelection. As a result, Stephen Douglas also lost his future bid for the presidency in 1860 against Republican Abraham Lincoln.

The museum also had a train in it complete with track and several cars, which spanned the entire length of the second half of the exhibit. I climbed up the short flight of stairs to take a look inside. One of the cars was a passenger car, giving visitors and idea of what it might have been like to be a passenger. There were also a number of displays about the railroad industry, and its advantages and its drawbacks throughout the 19th century and early 20th century. At the end of the exhibits focusing on the 20th century, stairs led you to a balcony where you could overlook the entire museum. It was definitely one of the most interesting history museums I’d been to so far, and it used its space most efficiently. I never felt like I wasn’t sure where to go next, and most of the displays held my attention. They had gone above and beyond making it informative, and found a way to give an extra bit of flavor to the history. It was everything you’d want in a museum.

            I left the museum feeling optimistic and rejuvenated. Kansas, along with Nebraska, embody the dreams of the American pioneers in the 1800s. Pioneers left the bustle of the cities in the east and journeyed to the open plain. While life was far from easy, the land supported its inhabitants, and human civilization spread. The Mississippi allowed for transport and farming, and the people lived a simple yet fulfilling life. Although the conflict of the Civil War meant a bloody beginning for the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, they have become a testament to the tenacity of humankind and the determination of American culture. Today, the Great Plains sustains Omaha and Kansas City, as well as the largest amount of corn and wheat you’ve ever seen in your life. It is a very interesting place, and a must-see on the journey to discover American culture. I set my sights east, and headed toward Missouri.