Addresses: by John A. Martin. Delivered in Kansas.Martin, John Alexander
History
Addresses: by John A. Martin. Delivered in Kansas.
Martin, John Alexander
Kansas
On the 4th of October, 1859, the Constitution was submitted to the
people for ratification or rejection, and, for the first time in the
history of Kansas, all parties cast a full, free and unintimidated vote.
The Republicans favored, and the Democrats generally opposed its
adoption. Nearly 16,000 ballots were polled, of which 10,421 were for,
and 5,530 against the Constitution. The Homestead clause, submitted as
an independent proposition, was ratified by a vote of 8,788 for, to
4,772 against it. Every county in the Territory except two, Johnson and
Morris, gave a majority for the Constitution.
Two months later, December 6th, State and County officers and members of
the Legislature were elected, and the people of Kansas, having exhausted
their authority in State-building, patiently awaited the action of
Congress. On the 11th of April, 1860, the House of Representatives
voted, 134 to 73, to admit Kansas as a State, under the Wyandotte
Constitution. Twice, during the next eight months, the Senate defeated
motions to consider the Kansas bill, but on the 21st of January, 1861,
several Southern Senators having seceded, Mr. Seward “took a pinch of
snuff” and called it up again. It passed by a vote of 36 to 16, and on
the 29th of the same month President Buchanan approved it. Thus young
Kansas, through many difficulties and turmoils, was “added to the
Stars.”
AN ENDURING CONSTITUTION.
During nearly twenty-two of the most eventful and exciting years of
American history, the Constitution thus framed and ratified has defined
the powers and regulated the duties of the government of Kansas. Three
Legislatures have voted down propositions to call a new Constitutional
Convention. Twelve or fifteen amendments have been submitted, but only
eight have been approved by the people. Finally, in 1880, the
Legislature voted to submit a proposal for a new Convention, and at the
regular election held in November of that year, this ballot was taken.
The result was an indorsement of the old Wyandotte Constitution by a
majority far more emphatic and overwhelming than that by which it was
originally adopted, the vote standing 22,870 for, and 146,279 against
the proposed Convention, or nearly seven to one.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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