In the North, Thayer was credited with helping to make Kansas a slave-free state. He was also called a villain by others for having caused the bloodshed and violence that followed sending immigrants to Kansas. In the South, the Company was often called "Eli Thayer & Co.," and a price was placed on Thayer's head in more than one place. In Missouri and the South, Thayer was charged with the "crime" of making Kansas a free state. In 1887, Thayer wrote a book "A History of the Kansas Crusade: Its Friends and Its Foes" where he claimed a good deal of the credit for Kansas becoming free of slavery.