Constitutional Conventions of Kansas

Constitutional Conventions of Kansas - Page 3

On December 21, 1856 an election was held under this call, the Free-State men not voting, with the result of 6,266 for the constitution with slavery and 569 for the constitution with no slavery. In the meantime, Governor John Geary had resigned on March 4, 1857. Governor Robert Walker , who was appointed by President James Buchanan on March 10, 1857, and Secretary Stanton united in asking the Free-State men to participate in the election and guaranteed them a fair vote and honest counts. These fair promises and the great influx of northerners, induced the Free-State men to change their whole policy. They went into the election of the territorial legislators on October 5, 1857, and elected a substantial majority of both Houses.

At three of the precincts, Oxford, Shawnee Mission and Kickapoo, nearly 3,000 illegal votes were cast and Governor Robert Walker, true to his promise, set aside returns from the Oxford and McGhee precincts.

One clause in the Lecompton Convention provided, "Free negroes shall

not be permitted to live in this State under any circumstances."

His action forced him to leave the state on November 16th, and to hand in his resignation a month later. Secretary Stanton, acting governor, called a special session of the new Legislature and that body submitted the Lecompton Constitution to a vote of the people on January 4, 1858, with the following result. (Free-State men participating - pro-slavery men not participating.)

      Against the constitution ............ 10,226
      For the constitution with slavery ...... 138
      For the constitution without slavery ...  23

In the meantime, on December 24, 1857, a Democratic Convention held at Leavenworth utterly repudiated the Lecompton Constitution and petitioned Congress to reject it. John H. Stringfellow, ex-speaker of the Bogus Legislature, protested against the admission of Kansas under it on January 7, 1858 and said "to do so will break down the Democratic Party at the North and seriously endanger the peace and interests of Missouri and Kansas if not of the whole Union. The slavery question in Kansas is settled against the South by immigration." Governor Denver sent Rush Elmore to Washington with a confidential message to Buchanan not to present the Lecompton Constitution to Congress at all.

Others were trying to resurrect the Topeka Constitution, which President Buchanan denounced. On April 23, 1858, a compromise bill was introduced in Congress, passed both Houses on April 30th, and was signed by Buchanan on May 4, 1858. Under it the Lecompton Constitution was again submitted to a vote with the disastrous results of 1,788 for the proposition and 11,300 against it, a majority of 9,512. This was the last stand of the pro-slavery party in Kansas. Every election held in Kansas thereafter was carried either by the Free-State party or the republicans until 1882 when Glick, a democrat, was elected governor.

The action of Buchanan and his advisors in trying to force the Lecompton Constitution alienated the northern democrats, split the party at the election of 1860, and resulted in Abraham Lincoln being elected as president.

Leavenworth Convention

Leavenworth in 1860.

The third Constitutional Convention was the Leavenworth Convention which was authorized by the act of February 10, 1858. On the 13th, before the governor had been given the three full days allowed by law for the consideration of the measure, the legislature adjourned. Governor James Denver therefore claimed that the act was not entitled to recognition as a law of the territory. However, under its provisions, an election for delegates was held on March 9th and on the 23rd, the convention assembled at Minneola, Kansas . The convention was organized with James H. Lane as president and Samuel F. Tappan as clerk.

The following day the convention voted to adjourn to meet at Leavenworth on March 25th. After appointing the committees, Lane resigned the presidency of the convention and Martin F. Conway was elected as his successor.

The convention worked diligently and reached a final adjournment on April 3, when the constitution was adopted, and signed by the officers and delegates including:

Franklin G. Adams, Henry J. Adams, J. D. Allen, A. B. Anderson, W. F. M. Arny, M. L. Ashmore, R. Austin, H. S. Baker, W. V. Barr, W. D. Beeler, F. N. Blake, W. E. Bowker, Charles H. Branscomb, J. L. Brown, T. H. Butler, W. H. Coffin, G. A. Colton, Uriah Cook, A. Danford, James Davis, J. C. Douglass, J. M. Elliott, J. S. Emery, H. J. Espy, Robert Ewing, Thomas Ewing, Jr .., Lucian Fish, R. M. Fish, James Fletcher, Charles A. Foster, G. M. Fuller, J. K. Goodin, I. T. Goodnow, W. R. Griffith, J. F. Hampson, Henry Harvey, J. P. Hatterscheidt, G. W. Higinbotham, G. D. Humphrey, H. P. Johnson, R. A. Kinzie, Alburtus Knapp, James H. Lane, Alfred Larzelere, Edward Lynde, William McCullough, A. W. McCauslin, Caleb May, Charles Mayo, R. B. Mitchell, James Monroe, W. R. Monteith, B. B. Newton, C. S. Perham, D. Pickering, J. H. Pillsbury, Preston B. Plumb, J. G. Rees, John Ritchie, W. Y. Roberts, Hugh Robertson, Orville Root, W. W. Ross, E. S. Scudder, J. M. Shepherd, A. H. Shurtleff, Amasa Soule, William Spriggs, Samuel Stewart, J. R. Swallow, James Telfer, Timothy D. Thacher , J. C. Todd, R. U. Torry, Thomas Trower, G. W. K. Twombly. J. M. Walden, W. L. Webster, A. W. Williams, A. L. Winans, James M. Winchell, Samuel N. Wood , C. A. Woodworth.

If the Lecompton Constitutional Convention had been under the control of the pro-slavery element, the Leavenworth Convention was no less under the control of the Free-State men. Of the delegates, M. F. Conway, J. S. Emery, J. K. Goodin, W. R. Griffith, James H. Lane, Caleb May, Charles A. Foster, W. Y. Roberts and J. H. Pillsbury had served as members of the Topeka Convention. Several of the members of the Leavenworth Convention afterward became prominent in the affairs of Kansas and the nation. Thomas Ewing, Jr., was the first Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court; William Y. Roberts, Edward Lynde and H. P. Johnson commanded Kansas regiments in the Civil War; James H. Lane was one of the first United States Senators from Kansas ; Preston B. Plumb served in the United States Senate at a later date; William R. Griffith was the first Superintendent of Public Instruction; Robert B. Mitchell rose to the rank of Brigadier-General in the Civil War and was subsequently governor of New Mexico; Addison Danford was Attorney-General of the state; Franklin G. Adams was for years, the secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, and a number of others served in the legislature.

Finally Free-Staters were in control of the legislature and passed a radical anti-slavery constitution granting voting rights to African Americans. The constitution was ratified by Kansas voters but not approved by the U.S. Congress, which was at the time controlled by pro-slavery leaders controlled the Congress, where they ensured its failure at the national level.

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