29 Jan 1861 Jahr - Wyandotte Constitution

Beschreibung:

The Wyandotte Constitution is the constitution of the U.S. state of Kansas.

The Wyandotte Constitution admitted Kansas as a free state, although it was not the first choice. There were four constitutions made for Kansans to vote on, the Topeka Constitution, the Leavenworth Constitution, the Lecompton Constitution and the Wyandotte Constitution. After voting took place in a climate of intimidation and open violence, the Lecompton Constitution was voted to be the constitution of Kansas, and would have made Kansas a slave state. All that was left to do was send it to Washington D.C. After a rigorous national debate over the topic, it was overruled. The people of Kansas were set to vote on the four constitutions again. After another voting session, The Wyandotte Constitution was to be voted as the constitution of Kansas. Washington approved it and it was set, The Wyandotte Constitution was the constitution for Kansas.

The Wyandotte Constitution was approved in a referendum by a vote of 10,421 to 5,530 on October 4, 1859. In April, 1860, the United States House of Representatives voted 134 to 73 to admit Kansas under the Wyandotte Constitution; however, there was resistance in the United States Senate. As 11 slave states seceded from the Union, their senators left their seats and on January 21, 1861, the Senate passed the Kansas bill. The admission of Kansas as a free state became effective January 29, 1861.