A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Volume 5, part 4: James Buchanan
History
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Volume 5, part 4: James Buchanan
Buchanan, James, 1791-1868; Presidents -- United States; United States -- History -- Sources; United States -- Politics and government
I have received from J. Calhoun, esq., president of the late
constitutional convention of Kansas, a copy, duly certified by himself,
of the constitution framed by that body, with the expression of a hope
that I would submit the same to the consideration of Congress "with the
view of the admission of Kansas into the Union as an independent State."
In compliance with this request, I herewith transmit to Congress, for
their action, the constitution of Kansas, with the ordinance respecting
the public lands, as well as the letter of Mr. Calhoun, dated at
Lecompton on the 14th ultimo, by which they were accompanied. Having
received but a single copy of the constitution and ordinance, I send
this to the Senate.
A great delusion seems to pervade the public mind in relation to the
condition of parties in Kansas. This arises from the difficulty of
inducing the American people to realize the fact that any portion of
them should be in a state of rebellion against the government under
which they live. When we speak of the affairs of Kansas, we are apt to
refer merely to the existence of two violent political parties in that
Territory, divided on the question of slavery, just as we speak of such
parties in the States. This presents no adequate idea of the true state
of the case. The dividing line there is not between two political
parties, both acknowledging the lawful existence of the government,
but between those who are loyal to this government and those who have
endeavored to destroy its existence by force and by usurpation--between
those who sustain and those who have done all in their power to
overthrow the Territorial government established by Congress. This
government they would long since have subverted had it not been
protected from their assaults by the troops of the United States. Such
has been the condition of affairs since my inauguration. Ever since
that period a large portion of the people of Kansas have been in a state
of rebellion against the government, with a military leader at their
head of a most turbulent and dangerous character. They have never
acknowledged, but have constantly renounced and defied, the government
to which they owe allegiance, and have been all the time in a state
of resistance against its authority. They have all the time been
endeavoring to subvert it and to establish a revolutionary government,
under the so-called Topeka constitution, in its stead. Even at this very
moment the Topeka legislature are in session. Whoever has read the
correspondence of Governor Walker with the State Department, recently
communicated to the Senate, will be convinced that this picture is not
overdrawn. He always protested against the withdrawal of any portion of
the military force of the United States from the Territory, deeming
its presence absolutely necessary for the preservation of the regular
government and the execution of the laws. In his very first dispatch
to the Secretary of State, dated June 2, 1857, he says:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account