The Lecompton Constitution gets adopted

This Day in Kansas History

There were four constitutions written in an attempt to gain statehood for Kansas. The second and most controversial of these constitutions was the Lecompton Constitution which came from the Lecompton Constitutional Convention of 1857. Lecompton was the territorial capital of Kansas at this time and became known as the Slave Capital due to the fact that the government established here was proslavery. The delegates of the convention intended to protect slavery in Kansas Territory. The proslavery legislature that convened at Lecompton was elected in 1855. The election was characterized by voter fraud perpetrated by proslavery Missourians who flooded over the border. However, despite this, a convention was held by Free-staters and they created the Topeka Constitution. Even though the legislature at Lecompton was elected through fraudulent means President Franklin Pierce supported it and denounced the Topeka Constitution. He also went as far as declaring the Topeka Government to be in rebellion. In May of 1856 Charles L. Robinson, who was elected Territorial Governor at the Topeka Convention, and other free staters were arrested for treason. They were held as prisoners of the proslavery legislature at Camp Sackett, which was located about 3.5 miles southwest of Lecompton until September 1856.