Congress's Response To Lecompton Constitution

The Lecompton Constitution, drafted in 1857, was the second of four proposed state constitutions of Kansas. It was written in response to the anti-slavery position of the 1855 Topeka Constitution and strongly favoured slavery. The document was boycotted by free-soilers and was rejected in a territorial election in January 1858. Despite this, President James Buchanan endorsed the Lecompton Constitution and urged Congress to approve it and admit Kansas as a slave state. Congress ultimately rejected the constitution, and Kansas entered the Union as a free state in 1861. The controversy surrounding the Lecompton Constitution and the debate over its approval or rejection divided the Democratic Party and highlighted the growing tensions between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in the United States.

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The US House of Representatives rejected the Lecompton Constitution

The Lecompton Constitution was drafted in 1857 by pro-slavery advocates and included provisions to protect slavery in the state of Kansas and to exclude free people of colour from its bill of rights. It was strongly pro-slavery and never went into effect. The document was written in response to the anti-slavery position of the 1855 Topeka Constitution.

The Lecompton Constitution was boycotted by free-soilers, and over half of the 6,000 votes were deemed fraudulent. Nevertheless, it was sent to Washington for approval by Congress. Despite this clear majority opposing the Lecompton Constitution, President James Buchanan demanded that Congress approve it and admit Kansas as a slave state. His unrelenting support for the constitution alienated many Democrats, including Stephen Douglas, who felt this constitution violated popular sovereignty.

Douglas broke with Buchanan and joined with the Republicans in trying to block the Kansas statehood bill. Northern Democrats, led by Douglas, sided with the Republicans in opposition to the constitution. The US House of Representatives rejected the admission of Kansas with the Lecompton Constitution in 1858. The debate over the proposed constitution ripped apart the Democratic Party. Anson Burlingame delivered a fiery speech in the House of Representatives, condemning those in favour of the Lecompton Constitution as "An Appeal to Patriots Against Fraud and Disunion".

Kansas voters overwhelmingly rejected the Lecompton Constitution in a referendum in January 1858, and Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state in 1861. The rejection of the Lecompton Constitution highlighted the irregular and fraudulent voting practices that had marked earlier efforts.

President James Buchanan supported the pro-slavery vote

Buchanan's support for the pro-slavery vote can be attributed to his Southern leanings and his policy of appeasing the slave states. He appointed many southerners to his cabinet and took actions that favoured the slave states, such as appointing Robert J. Walker, a strong defender of slavery, as the territorial governor of Kansas.

Buchanan also refused to acknowledge the growing power of free soil ideology in the north. When voters met at Lecompton to write a state constitution, free-soil Kansans boycotted the registration and delegate election process, resulting in the election of a pro-slavery convention. Despite the clear majority opposing the Lecompton Constitution, Buchanan demanded that Congress approve it and admit Kansas as a slave state.

Buchanan's unrelenting support for the pro-slavery vote alienated many Democrats, including Stephen Douglas, who felt that the constitution violated popular sovereignty. Buchanan's insistence on admitting Kansas as a slave state, despite the objections of its citizens, was seen as an indication of the slave power manipulating northern Democrat politicians.

The Lecompton Constitution was drafted by pro-slavery advocates

Free-state supporters boycotted the vote, as they believed that pro-slavery influences and fraud tainted the election. Consequently, pro-slavery delegates dominated the constitutional convention. The Lecompton Constitution prohibited any amendment for a period of seven years and required governors to be citizens for at least 20 years. It also guaranteed slaveholders their property rights, protecting the right to enslaved "property" and preventing the legislature from emancipating enslaved people without their enslavers' consent and full compensation.

The Lecompton Constitution was submitted to Congress, asking for admission into the Union as a state, and it was to be submitted to all the white male inhabitants of the territory for approval or disapproval. The voting was to be by ballot, with the ballots endorsed as "Constitution with slavery" and "Constitution with no slavery". However, the vote on this document did not represent true popular sovereignty, as voters were not given the option to reject the constitution entirely, which would have been the true anti-slavery choice.

Despite the clear majority opposing the Lecompton Constitution, President James Buchanan demanded that Congress approve it and admit Kansas as a slave state. His support for the constitution alienated many Democrats, including Stephen Douglas, who felt that the constitution violated popular sovereignty. Douglas broke with Buchanan and joined the Republicans in trying to block the Kansas statehood bill.

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The Kansas statehood bill passed the Senate

The Lecompton Constitution was drafted by pro-slavery advocates and included provisions to protect slavery in the state of Kansas and exclude free Black people from its bill of rights. It was written in response to the anti-slavery position of the 1855 Topeka Constitution. The document was strongly pro-slavery and included clauses that protected the right to enslaved "property", prevented the legislature from emancipating enslaved people without their enslavers' consent and compensation, and prohibited free Black people from entering the state.

The Lecompton Constitution was initially approved in a rigged election in December 1857 but was overwhelmingly defeated in a second vote in January 1858 by a majority of voters in the Kansas Territory. Despite this clear majority opposing the Lecompton Constitution, President James Buchanan demanded that Congress approve it and admit Kansas as a slave state. Buchanan's support for the Lecompton Constitution alienated many Democrats, including Douglas, who felt it violated popular sovereignty.

The debate over the Lecompton Constitution had far-reaching consequences, ripping apart the Democratic Party and setting the stage for the Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 and the subsequent break-up of the party. Congress ultimately rejected the Lecompton Constitution, and Kansas entered the Union as a free state on January 29, 1861.

The Lecompton Constitution was boycotted by free-soilers

The Lecompton Constitution was drafted in 1857 by pro-slavery advocates and included provisions to protect slavery in the state of Kansas and to exclude free people of colour from its bill of rights. It was strongly pro-slavery, prohibiting any amendment for seven years and requiring governors to be citizens for a minimum of 20 years. It also prevented the legislature from emancipating enslaved people without their enslavers' consent and full compensation.

Free-state supporters boycotted the vote, believing that pro-slavery influences and fraud had tainted the election. They comprised most actual settlers, but the free-state men refused to participate in the election of delegates, resulting in the election of a pro-slavery convention. The Lecompton Constitution was boycotted by free-soilers, who saw the "'no slavery' option as disingenuous and unenforceable". Over half of the 6,000 votes were deemed fraudulent, and the referendum suffered serious voting irregularities.

Despite the clear majority opposing the Lecompton Constitution, President James Buchanan, a vocal supporter of enslaver rights, demanded that Congress approve it and admit Kansas as a slave state. He urged Congress to accept this constitution, arguing that Kansas was already a slave state by virtue of the US Constitution. Buchanan's support for the Lecompton Constitution alienated many Democrats, including Stephen Douglas, who felt it violated popular sovereignty.

The House of Representatives debated the Kansas Territory's pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution, with a coalition of Northern Republicans and Free Soilers blocking its referral to the House Territories Committee. The US House of Representatives ultimately rejected the Lecompton Constitution, and Kansas entered the Union as a free state in 1861.

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