Kansas and Missouri are home to leaders like General John J. Pershing and presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. They all grew up in small towns before taking on important roles around the world.

How did this region — once a frontier of chaos and civil war — become a mid-20th century core for American global power?

Jay Sexton, who holds the Rich and Nancy Kinder Chair of Constitutional Democracy and directs the Kinder Institute at MU, traces the story of violence, recovery, and ambition from Bloody Kansas through the Cold War. As the United States celebrates its 250th year, he offers a fresh look at American democracy both at home and around the world.

Sexton specializes in the political and economic history of the 19th century, placing the United States within a global context. In his 2018 book, A Nation Forged by Crisis: A New American History, he suggests that international events have played a key role in shaping U.S. history during its most significant periods of change.