Kansas History

Kansas is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka and its largest city is Wichita, with its most populated county and largest employment center being Johnson County. Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north; Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; and Colorado on the west. Kansas is named after the Kansas River, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native Americans who lived along its banks. Kansas entered the Union in 1861 as a free state, hence the unofficial nickname "The Free State". Kansas entered as the 34th of the 50 U.S. states.