Lawrence was first called "Wakarusa". It also had different names like "New Boston" or "Yankee Town." Some people wanted the city to be called "Lawrence" to honor a man named Amos Adams Lawrence. He was a Republican businessman who did not like slavery. People believed that if they named the city "Lawrence," he would give financial support to the city. He did. On October 1, the people voted to name the city Lawrence. On October 17, people started building houses and businesses. Pro-slavery people tried to build houses close to Lawrence, and people from Lawrence hated this. They had a very angry argument. The pro-slavery people threatened violence, but they left. No violence happened.