RESOURCES
More About Bill & the Kassebaums
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress: Senator Nancy Kassebaum, R-Kansas (1978-1997)
Read about Bill Kassebaum's mother and her political career as a Senator in the U.S. Congress. Kassebaum was the first woman elected to the Senate who did not succeed her husband after his death in office.
Sunflower Journeys: Nancy Kassebaum Baker: Personal Reflections on Her Years in the Senate
A transcript of an interview with former Senator Nancy Kassebaum Baker on her childhood in Kansas and her career in the U.S. Senate. (2000)
Nancy Kassebaum: On the Issues
Review some of the positions Senator Kassebaum took on issues while serving as a Senator in the U.S. Congress.
Wikipedia: Afred Mossman "Alf" Landon
Read about Bill Kassebaum's grandfather, Alf Landon, former governor of Kansas and 1936 Republican presidential candidate.
Sunflower Journeys: Landon for President: Alf Landon's Nomination & Its Impact on Kansas
A transcript of a TV program on Alf Landon's 1936 presidential campaign and what it meant for Kansas. (2000)
Kansas
Access Kansas
Find out more about Kansas at the official state tourism website. View pictures submitted by Kansans, learn about the states' history or purchase a turkey permit all in one site.
Kansas Legislature
Search for bills under consideration, current happenings and the chance to listen in on live legislature sessions at the official Kansas state legislature website.
Kansas State Historical Society
Visit award-winning exhibits on colorful characters and everyday folks from Kansas' past, including a picture of Bill Kassebaum's grandfather's podium, donated to the museum by Bill's mother, Nancy. And find out more about other historical landmarks throughout the state.
The Territorial Kansas
A non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to building an understanding of and appreciation for the history, heritage and national impact of the Kansas Territory.
Kansas State Fair
The first state fair in Kansas took place in 1873. Learn more about this annual celebration of all things Kansan.
Wichita State University Library: Special Collections
Nearly 500 different manuscript collections provide research opportunities for students, scholars and community users. There are also image, map and rare book collections, including four pictures of Burdick from the early 20th century. The collections cover a wide range of topics, with emphasis on aviation, Wichita and Kansas history, women's organizations, abolition, U.S. Civil War and entrepreneurship.
Also on PBS and NPR
PBS.org Websites
Frontier House
Three modern families experience life on the American Frontier. The website includes a comprehensive background on what life was like for Frontier pioneers in the late 1800s. (Last Updated: May 2004)
The First Century
Essayist Ben Wattenberg chats with historians about Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier Thesis, which states that the frontier and the challenges that Americans faced there is the dominant defining force shaping the American character. His thesis would come to be called the single most influential piece of writing in the history of American history. (2000)
American Buffalo
Before there were settlers in the Great Plains, there were Native Americans and there were buffalo, tens of thousands of buffalo. Learn more about these roaming beasts. (March 2001)
Lewis and Clark
This exceptional website (especially for its time) offers primary source materials like Lewis & Clark's journals and experts' thoughts on their expedition. The interactive map offers excerpts from their journals about Kansas. (1998)
NPR Stories
Weekend Edition: The New Homestead Act
The 1862 Homestead Act provided 160-acre parcels of land to settlers willing to populate the Western United States. With many original homestead towns dying, two senators have proposed new homestead legislation to revive the Great Plains. NPR's David Welna reports from the Capitol. (July 27, 2003)
Morning Edition: Plains States Birthrates
Host John Ydstie talks with Harlow Hyde, a Nebraska accountant who has found that birthrates in the Great Plains states are falling. If the trend continues, many communties will have populations too small to sustain civic life. (Aug. 20, 1997)
This American Life: Tornado Prom
Susan Burton reports on Prom Night 2001 in Hoisington, Kansas, a town of about 3,000. While the seniors danced, a tornado hit the town, destroying about a third of it. When they emerged from the dance, they discovered what had happened, and in the weeks that followed, they tried to explain to themselves why the tornado hit where it did. (june 8, 2001)