Miami County, Kansas
When Kansas Territory was incorporated in 1854 due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was essentially repealed. Bordering the slave state of Missouri to its east, the county (Miami) and surrounding areas became a location for violence between abolitionists and the "Border Ruffians" of Missouri. These acts of violence and battles that took place primarily from 1854–1858, became known as border wars, and Kansas became known as Bleeding Kansas. Kansas Territory was not yet a state, and it was a battle on which forces would become dominant, slave or free. Many abolitionists came from other states to live in the area and ensure Kansas' entry as a state as a free, or anti-slavery one. The county's most notable abolitionist was John Brown, who moved to Osawatomie, making it the headquarters for him and his anti-slavery forces. As a result of this, Osawatomie, as well as the surrounding countryside and communities became the center for several battles and acts of violence during this period. Near Osawatomie are historic sites of John Brown, such as his famous Civil War lookout.
25th meridian west from Washington
On January 1, 1861, the Act Admitting the State of Kansas to the Union defined the western boundary of the new state as the 25th meridian of longitude west from Washington. This rendered the western portion of the Territory of Kansas unorganized. Thirty days later on February 28, 1861, the Act Organizing the Territory of Colorado defined the eastern boundary of the new territory as the 25th meridian of longitude west from Washington. The creation of the Colorado Territory moved the western boundary of the Territory of Nebraska south of the 41st parallel north east to this meridian. These boundaries on the 25th meridian of longitude west from Washington remained when Nebraska became a state on March 1, 1867, and Colorado became a state on August 1, 1876.