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Bleeding Kansas
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==Constitutional fight== {{see also|Constitutions of Kansas}} Much of the early confrontation of the Bleeding Kansas era centered formally on the creation of a constitution for the future state of Kansas. The first of four such documents was the [[Topeka Constitution]], written by antislavery forces unified under the [[Free-Soil Party]] in December 1855. This constitution was the basis for the Free-State territorial government that resisted the federally authorized government, elected by Missourians who, congressional investigation soon revealed, committed fraud by voting in Kansas as residents and then returning to Missouri.<ref>Cutler, William G. ''History of the State of Kansas'', A.T. Andreas, (1883), "Territorial History".</ref> On June 30, 1856, after Pierce's declaration that the Topeka government was extralegal, Congress rejected ratification of the Topeka Constitution. Pierce was succeeded in 1857 by [[James Buchanan]]. Like his predecessor, Buchanan was a Northerner sympathetic to the South and proslavery interests. That year, a second constitutional convention met in Lecompton, and by early November had drafted the [[Lecompton Constitution]], a proslavery document endorsed by President Buchanan. The constitution was submitted to Kansans for a vote on a special slavery article, but Free-Staters refused to participate, since they knew that the constitution would allow Kansas slaveholders to keep existing slaves even if the article in question was voted against. The Lecompton Constitution, including the slavery article, was approved by a vote of 6,226 to 569 on December 21. Congress instead ordered another election because of voting irregularities uncovered. On August 2, 1858, Kansas voters rejected the document by 11,812 to 1,926.<ref>Cutler, William G. "Territorial History, Part 55".</ref> While the Lecompton Constitution was pending before Congress, a third document, the [[Leavenworth Constitution]], was written and passed by Free State delegates. It was more radical than other Free-State proposals in that it would have extended [[suffrage]] to "every male citizen," regardless of [[Race and ethnicity in the United States|race]]. Participation in this ballot on May 18, 1858, was a fraction of the previous and there was even some opposition by Free-State Democrats. The proposed constitution was forwarded to the U.S. Senate on January 6, 1859, where it was met with a tepid reception and left to die in committee.<ref>Cutler, William G. "Territorial History, Part 53".</ref> The fourth and final Free State proposal was the [[Wyandotte Constitution]], drafted in 1859, which represented the anti-slavery view of the future of Kansas. It was approved in a [[referendum]] by a vote of 10,421 to 5,530 on October 4, 1859.<ref name="Adoption">{{Cite web |url=http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/kansas-constitutions/16532 |title='''''Wyandotte Constitution''''' Approved |access-date=November 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105164826/http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/kansas-constitutions/16532 |archive-date=November 5, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> With Southern states still in control of the Senate, confirmation of the Wyandotte Constitution was indefinitely postponed. When senators from the seceding states left in January 1861, Kansas was immediately admitted—the same day—as a free state.{{cn|date=December 2023}}
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