Bad Blood: The True Story of the Missouri Kansas Border Wars

Gettysburg, Antietam and Bull Run: these Civil War battles are scarred on our collective memories. But the War Between the States began long before the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861. Seven years before the South seceded from the United States, the region of the Kansas-Nebraska Territory bordering Missouri was the true flashpoint over the thorny question of slavery. Fraud, treason and terror were the order of the day. The struggle between pro-slavery tradition and puritanical abolitionism began in 1854 over the frontier territory of Kansas, causing bad blood between two states that's lasted for more than a hundred fifty years.

"Bad Blood" is a co-production of KCPT Kansas City Public Television and Wide Awake Films. Production for the two-hour documentary is currently underway. KCPT and Wide Awake Films anticipate staging three to four more reenactments throughout the summer and fall at various locations throughout Missouri and Kansas. Post-production will begin in the fall with a projected completion date of early 2007. After which it will air locally on KCPT and be distributed nationally to PBS member stations. DVD copies will be available for purchase through Wide Awake Films.