If you enjoy history, this is a valuable look at early Kansas and facts about the Civil War and how it affected citizens and those living in Kansas Territory. Â It is from the firsthand perspective of Reuben Smith, an English immigrant arriving in the Kansas Territory in 1857, four years before Kansas became a state. Â Reuben led an active life, closely involved in the challenging life of forming a state. Â He was a proponent of anti-slavery and volunteered to serve as a Union Soldier during the Civil War of the United States. Â The reader can gain invaluable knowledge of the historical settling of a state, war, and an involved citizen who was intrinsically part of the life of early Kansas.
Reuben had a passionate loyalty for Kansas and he remained highly involved being elected to the state legislature, county commissioner, the first director of the psychiatric hospital in Osawatomie. Â He was an active presence in his new country, and he became involved in the hot issues. Â He took his citizenship as a great responsibility. Â Reuben lived at a time of great struggles with Missouri and that general area. Â The book added a great deal to my picture of life in the time period.
Happy Reading,
Diana