They had ability and they had courage.

They had determined upon mastery within the Union, or a Continental Empire outside of it.
While the South had thus resolved to acquire control of the large Territory of Kansas, the North had equally resolved to save it to freedom.

The strife that ensued upon the fertile plains beyond the Missouri might almost be regarded as the opening battle of the civil war.

The proximity of a slave State gave to the South an obvious advantage at the beginning of the contest.

Many of the Northern emigrants were from New England, and the distance they were compelled to travel exceeded two thousand miles.