Eli Thayer (June 11, 1819 – April 15, 1899) was an educator, reformer, legislator and founder of the New England Emigrant Aid Company. He was instrumental in the politics of Kansas during the period known as Bleeding Kansas. When Congress passed the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854, the question of whether Kansas would become a slave-state or free state was left to the voters of Kansas. pro-slavery supporters, abolitionists and free-staters all rushed to settle in the Kansas Territory. All were trying to gain power so as to determine the status of slavery in Kansas. Thayer is best known for his work in the New England Emigrant Aid Company. Their purpose was to rush as many Free-Staters as possible to settle in Kansas. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1857-1861. After serving in Congress Thayer became a businessman. Thayer died in Worcester, Massachusetts on April 15, 1899. 