About a year passed before any further Kansas constitutional progress occurred. But when James Buchanan took office as president of the United States, he appointed Robert J. Walker as governor of Kansas Territory. Governor Walker arrived in Kansas in May 1857 with instructions to assist the “regular legislature” in forming a constitutional convention.
However, when delegates were elected to attend a constitutional convention at Lecompton, Free Staters again boycotted the proceeding. This allowed the proslavery side to dominate the convention despite their relatively small numbers across the territory.
The Lecompton Constitution was drafted between mid-October and early November. The Lecompton convention did address slavery, but in a very unique way. During the ratification process, voters would receive two ballots, one reading “Constitution With Slavery” and the other reading “Constitution With No Slavery.” And this is what the two choices meant:
- The constitution with slavery: “The right of property is before and higher than any constitutional sanction, and the right of the owner of a slave to such slave and its increase is the same and as inviolable as the right of the owner of any property whatever….The Legislature shall have no power to pass laws for the emancipation of slaves without the consent of the owners, or without paying the owners previous to their emancipation a full equivalent in money for the slaves so emancipated.”
- The constitution with no slavery: “…The article providing for Slavery shall be stricken from this Constitution by the President of this Convention, and Slavery shall no longer exist in the State of Kansas, except that the right of property in slaves now in this Territory shall in no manner be interfered with….”
Notice, also, that voters could not vote against the constitution itself.
The outrage over this affair was so great that Governor Walker resigned. Free Staters refused to vote either for slavery or for the so-called no-slavery option.
On December 21, the Constitution With Slavery option won in the polls by 6,226 to 569 votes. About half of the Constitution With Slavery votes were fraudulent.
Constitution Highlights
- Slavery protected.
- Free blacks barred from residence in the state.
The Constitution on the National Scene
Free Staters acted quickly, begging Congress not to admit Kansas to the Union under the Lecompton Constitution. However, President James Buchanan, a Democrat believed to have Southern sympathies, spoke up in favor of the constitution. Senator Stephen A. Douglas, a Northern Democrat, joined forces with the fledgling Republican Party in opposition to the document on the grounds that it probably did not represent the true will of the people of Kansas. The Democratic Party split.
Through the combined efforts of Senator Douglas and the Free State Party in Kansas, a referendum was held on the document on January 4, 1858. This time, the abolitionists realized the need to vote. Over 10,000 voters rejected the Lecompton Constitution, compared to over 100 who opted for the Constitution With Slavery option and about 20 for the Constitution Without Slavery option.
Not surprisingly, the Lecompton Constitution made little progress in Kansas after the referendum. Still, President Buchanan’s faction was not yet ready to yield. Meanwhile, the Free State side was quickly preparing to follow up on this victory.
Next Week: Leavenworth
Helpful Resource
Lecompton Constitution
View photos of the original document, or read the full text.
Homestead on the Range 