How many times does Kansas have to write a constitution?  

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The answer is four! 

A U.S. territory can become a state by appointing delegates to a constitutional convention, drafting a state constitution compatible with the U.S. Constitution. 

There are several criteria for federal bureaucrats to ponder: population, strategic location, economics, political clout etc. Under law, the U.S. Congress is not obligated to respond or consider a submitted constitution, sorry Puerto Rico, they petitioned in 1952. 

After the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 passage, different factions started moving into Kansas seeking to advance their agenda on the national question of the day, whether or not to allow the expansion of slavery into these new territories. The country and now the Kansas territory was passionately divided. 

Towns started springing, populated with like-minded settlers: Leavenworth, Atchison and Lecompton were inhabited by mostly pro-slavery Missourians while Lawrence and Topeka considered themselves “Free Staters.” Abolitionists dotted the area around Osawatomie where John Brown and his dedicated band based. 

The Topeka Constitution 

Free Staters acted first in 1855, these racists with a heart wanted to ban slavery from the new state while outlawing any freed blacks from living in Kansas, in other words creating an all-white state! 

When I travel to Lawrence and see Free-State this and that being proudly marketed I wonder how many actually know the history. Just 100 years later Wilt Chamberlain came knocking at KU’s door. Makes you wonder if the Free-Staters had gotten their original way, where would Jayhawk basketball be today? “Rock Chalk!” 

The Topeka Constitution was rejected. 

The LeComption Constitution

Pro-slavers didn’t mince words, you knew exactly their position. They considered slaves property, as throughout the South, seeing confiscation or the freeing of slaves equal to the government seizing privately owned land, houses or animals. 

The LeCompton Constitution was the document the South would put all its political muscle behind, if successful it would set the precedent for expanding slavery throughout the new lands. 

Congress and the State of Kansas were at a fever pitch debating the acceptance or rejection of the LeCompton Constitution, setting the stage for a national showdown. 

Free-Staters boycotted voting on the petition, not wanting to even send the constitution to Washington for hopeful defeat because of blatant residency and voter fraud perpetuated by, well, both sides throughout this seven-year effort to become a state. 

In the summer and fall of 1858, Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas entered into a series of seven debates running for a U.S. Senate seat in Illinois. The word Lecompton was spoken 55 times in those exchanges. There was no more divisive issue in America. Douglas won the seat but the rest, as you know, is history. 

Emotions boiled over in Congress arguing about Lecompton. On Feb. 6, 1858, at 1 a.m. in the morning, it happened.

Exhausted, both sides were vehement in their stance, insulting each other through speeches most of the day. Pennsylvania Republican Galusha Grow got in the face of South Carolinian Democrat Laurence Keitt, words turned into shoves, then shoves to blows ... the melee was on! In all, 50 members of Congress joined in, it was a donnybrook, throats were grabbed, walking sticks swung, punches thrown and landed … order could not be restored. 

I can’t get the image out of my head of these pampered, Ben Franklin looking, privileged white guys duking it out on the floor of Congress. OK, no doubt there was a smattering of frontiersmen turned statesman, but out of shape blowhards in pressed shirts had to dominate. 

Speaker James Orr of South Carolina gaveled furiously for order to no-avail. Sending the Sargent of Arms Adam Glossbrenner into the brawl, wielding the House Mace, but even that didn’t stop the chaos. 

Not until Wisconsin Republican John “Bowie Knife” Potter ripped off Mississippi Democrat William Barksdale's wig yelling, “I’ve scalped him!” Did the northerners start cheering and laughing, as both sides backed off. 

The Lecompton Constitution failed two days later by a tally of 120-112, eight votes shy of Kansas entering the United States as a slave state. 

The Leavenworth Constitution

This Constitution was another attempt by the Free-Staters while the Lecompton document was being debated in Congress. It was the most liberal of the four documents, allowing rights to “all men,” black and white. There was even a provision addressing the basic framework for women's rights, unheard of in the 1850’s. Perhaps that’s the real reason the Leavenworth Constitution never got off the ground. 

The Wyandotte Constitution 

Finally, this Constitution represented a practical compromise over the hotly debated issues: Kansas would enter as a free state, freed slaves could live in the state, it affirmed property ownership rights for married women but denied women, blacks and Native Americans the right to vote. 

The Wyandotte Constitution easily passed the house in April 1860, 134-73 but there was strong resistance in the Senate. On Jan. 21, 1861, the world was about to change, senators from slave holding southern states vacated their seats as several states had seceded from the Union. 

Now, the voting numbers needed to be lowered. That day, the senate passed the Wyandotte Constitution and sent the declaration on to President Buchanan for his signature. 

On Jan. 29, 1861, slave-free Kansas joined the United States of America as its 34th member state. 

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Bob Ford’s History will appear in each edition of the Midweek and Weekender. You can find more of Bob’s work on his website bobfordshistory.com and videos on YouTube, TikTok and Clapper.