To expand upon what John has said: It was the only actual test ever attempted of Sen. Stephen Douglas's doctrine of "squatter sovereignty. read more
Kansas wasn't all that important during the war itself. Its importance was most seen prior to the war. See: Bleeding Kansas As a border state between the North and South, Kansas was rent by pro- and anti-slavery sentiments. One could argue that the Civil War actually got started there, years before Lincoln's election. read more
The first Kansas regiment was called on June 3, 1861, and the seventeenth, the last raised during the Civil War, on July 28, 1864. The entire quota assigned to Kansas was 16,654, and the number raised was 20,097, leaving a surplus of 3,443 to the credit of Kansas. read more