The Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company was founded in 1854 by Eli Thayer of Massachusetts to fight against the extension of slavery to Kansas territory. Thayer and his partners believed that if enough "free-staters" established themselves in Kansas, they would prevent state-sanctioned slavery by exercising their right to popular sovereignty. In 1855, the company reorganized and changed its named to the New England Emigrant Aid Company.

Settlers sent by the Company were centrally involved in the "Bleeding Kansas" saga. Among the Kansas towns that the company is responsible for founding are Lawrence, Topeka, Osawatomie, and Manhattan.

References

• Thayer, Eli. History of the Kansas Crusade: Its Friends and its Foes (1889)
• Kansas State Historical Society

History of Kansas | History of Massachusetts