Crossroads of Conflict: Contested Visions of Freedom and the Missouri-Kansas Border Wars 2010

FAIN: BH-50337-09

University of Missouri, Kansas City (Kansas City, MO 64110-2235)
Edeen Joyce Martin (Project Director: March 2009 to June 2011)

Two Landmarks workshops for eighty teachers on the history and impact of the Missouri-Kansas border wars that preceded the American Civil War.

Crossroads of Conflict: Contested Visions of Freedom and the Missouri-Kansas Border Wars workshops explore the clash of cultures and differing definitions of "freedom" that played out on the Missouri-Kansas border in the decade before the Civil War. The purpose of the Crossroads of Conflict workshops is to give K-12 teachers tools to devise fresh techniques for using historical settings, architecture, material culture, art and drama along with historical documents and records to enable students to engage the past and gain a better understanding of the forces that shaped and continue to influence local and national history. In addition to UMKC resources, participants will use information found in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Steamboat Arabia Museum. Historic landmarks included :the John Wornall House, the Shawnee Indian Mission, Historic Westport MO, Lawrence, KS, Constitution Hall in Lecompton, KS, Watkins Woolen Mill and the Jesse James Farm.