Something fundamental is going on in Kansas. The state’s judicial and political leadership is deeply involved in a reexamination of the very idea of citizenship, guided in these considerations by historians and other humanities scholars from throughout the state. On September 19, approximately 150 of these distinguished Kansans convened in the state’s capital to launch the project, which is entitled, “Freedom’s Soil.”
Supreme court justices, business executives, members of the Governor’s cabinet, and leaders of the Kansas legislature attended a day-long symposium on the “Freedom’s Soil” theme that links the 125th anniversary of Kansas statehood to the forthcoming celebration of the bicentennial of the US Constitution. This gathering, as well as the six subsequent seminars on various phases of the “Freedom’s Soil” concept were funded by the Kansas Committee for the Humanities and some private contributions.
What occurred in the September 19 session was an often vigorous and invigorating exchange of views. These followed comments by “Thomas Jefferson” and “William Allen White” (portrayed by scholar-actors Clay Jenkinson and Jack Wright, respectively) and the keynote address by Forrest McDonald, Professor of History at the University of Alabama. The exchanges were further spurred by six small group sessions, led by faculty members from Kansas universities. Observations, making use and sometimes misuse of historical precedent, arguments grounded in philosophical principle, and even cultural chauvinism, abounded. The experience certainly validated the project’s aim of bringing together Kansas political, economic, and intellectual leaders. As the Kansas Committee for the Humanities’ executive director, Marion Cott, commented, “The Symposium compelled participants to examine the historical and philosophical roots of our political system.”
This process of reexamination will continue throughout the fall as the faculty members who led the small group discussions at the Symposium will direct a series of six seminars in Topeka for officials of state agencies. Among the topics to be discussed are: “The Right to Know: Access to Public Information,” “The Tradeoffs of Democracy—Freedom and Equality,” “Kansas Literary Reflections on the Jeffersonian Dream,” “The Agrarian Foundations of Kansas,” “The Meaning of Citizenship of Women,” and “‘Equity’ as a Constitutional, Philosophical, and Political Principle.” It is hoped that these seminars will be established on a permanent basis as an enduring legacy of the Kansas and Constitutional anniversary commemorations. For more information, write the Kansas Committee for the Humanities, 112 West St., Suite 509, Topeka, KS 66603
Donald R. McCoy and Theodore A. Wilson
University of Kansas
