Free-staters
Wilder's Annals of Kansas (p. 91) says that in 1855 a free-state secret society was organized at Lawrence, and that this society was known by different names, such as Defenders, Regulators and Danites. Holloway's History of Kansas (p. 203) states that, "The invasions of the 30th of March and the continued threatening and armed demonstrations of the Missourians suggested to the free-state men some kind of military organization for self defense. Accordingly a secret order of a military character was introduced (the Kansas Legion), similar to the Blue Lodge of Missouri, with this exception—its object was solely defensive, while that of the latter was offensive. Its design was to labor by all lawful means to make Kansas a free state, and to protect the ballot box from invasion. There was nothing wrong in the society itself, nor in its object, or means employed to attain that object. It never extended far over the territory. There were, however, several 'encampments' at different places. It was secret in character, and the members took an obligation in accordance with the nature and design of the society. It was found to be too cumbersome and unwieldy, and soon fell into disuse. Many of the members became dissatisfied with its unnecessary obligations to secrecy. Its cumbersome machinery was never put into practical operation."
Gihon, in his Geary and Kansas, says the "largest and most respectable portion of the free-state party condemned the Kansas Legion and took no part in its operations," and Cutler's History of Kansas (p. 474) gives the following account of the Danites: "In 1855 an association was formed by certatin[sic] disaffected parties in Doniphan for the purpose of opposing obnoxious laws. This body was known as the Danites; Patrick Laughlin (q. v.), a tinsmith of the town, joined this society, but on becoming aware of its full purpose became disgusted and openly proclaimed all of its secrets," and then, after describing how the Danites tried to wreak vengeance on the traitor, concludes the account by saying, "This was the end of the Danites."
From the statement in Holloway's History of Kansas, that Laughlin published the ritual of the Kansas Legion in the Squatter Sovereign, it is evident that the Danites mentioned by Cutler and the Kansas Legion were one. When that ritual was published the pro-slavery press of the country devoted columns of space to the injustice and unrighteousness of the organization, and Stephen A. Douglas, on the floor of the United States senate, denounced it as a "monster of iniquity."