The Lecompton Constitution

The Lecompton Constitution

Problems in Kansas

• Governor Geary restored order in Kansas, although there were still two separate governments, the Lecompton government and the Topeka government.
• By Febuary 1857, the Lecompton government had authorised the election of a covention to create a constitution, which would set Kansas to its way to statehood.
• Free staters suspected that the election would be rigged by pro-slavers, so refused to get involved. As a result, the pro-slavers won.
• This raised Southern expectations, as they realised that the creation of another slave state was possible.
• The free-staters claimed that the pro-slavers had been fraudulent in the election, and this was found to be true. The fraudulent results were overturned, giving the free-staters a majority.

Creating the Constitution 

• The constitutional convention was the pro-slavers last refuge.
• The constitution did not represent the majority opinion in Kansas.
• Although the pro-slavery…