The New England Emigrant Aid Company was a venture that was hatched by a Massachusetts legislator by the name of Eli Thayer. It was an attempt to keep Kansas as a free state by moving abolitionists to Kansas. With the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the people of Kansas had the choice, through elections, to decide if the territory would be a slave state or not. Thayer felt that by funding the migration of people from his free...
The New England Emigrant Aid Company was a venture that was hatched by a Massachusetts legislator by the name of Eli Thayer. It was an attempt to keep Kansas as a free state by moving abolitionists to Kansas. With the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the people of Kansas had the choice, through elections, to decide if the territory would be a slave state or not. Thayer felt that by funding the migration of people from his free state to travel to Kansas, they could influence the popular vote on the issue of slavery.
The company did not have success if you gauge the number of migrants as an indicator. Thayer hoped to move tens of thousands of migrants to Kansas to guarantee the territory would not institute slavery. Historians are not in agreement as to the exact number, but it was no more than 2,500 people that accepted the offer to move. The influx of people from free states did motivate people from Missouri to move into Kansas and the entire process resulted in violence.
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