Historian Tim Rues portrays Kansas Brigade Commander James Lane during a reenactment event in Lecompton. (Frank Barthell photo)
Hidden stories in plain sight
This two-week series delves into the history and legacy of the Kansas-Missouri Border War.
It’s an ambitious legacy for a community of fewer than 600 residents. But Lecompton, 13 miles northwest of Lawrence, has risen to the challenge. After all, it was the capital of the Kansas Territory for six contentious years before the state was admitted to the Union in 1861.
Take Constitution Hall, built by pro-slavery Douglas County sheriff Samuel Jones in 1856. The following year, according to Lecompton historian Tim Rues, the second of the four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas was signed there. It protected the enslavement of people in Kansas and excluded free black people from entry. The Free States, anticipating election fraud by Missouri colonists, boycotted the vote.
The Lecompton Constitution was next debated in the U.S. House of Representatives in February 1858. Without a late-night brawl that kicked off proceedings and ultimately divided the Democratic party over the issue of voter fraud, Kansas would have entered the Union as a slave. stands.
Because of this tremendously consistent course of action, Constitution Hall is now a Kansas and National Historic Landmark; a good place to introduce or update your knowledge of the Border War. Plan your visit around a presentation called ‘Bleeding Kansas’.
The Lecompton Reenactors are a group of historical interpreters who “bring to life a turbulent time in Kansas history,” says Steve Germes, who plays Kansas’ first governor, Charles Robinson.
On a weekday this spring, I witnessed this mock debate on the issues of popular sovereignty and slavery before a captivated audience of twenty high school students. Other interpreters represented James Lane, the U.S. Senator and leader of the Kansas Brigade during the Civil War, the abolitionist John Brown, a fictional slave catcher named Felix, Sheriff Samuel Jones, and two important Kansas women, Sara Robinson and Clarina Nichols. They provided a moral counterbalance to the flawed men on both sides of the debate.
Historically, such a debate has never taken place. Women were forbidden to speak in the public sphere. Lane and Robinson, both Free Staters, were political enemies who were rarely seen together. And Sheriff Jones was generally concerned with keeping the state’s more radical abolitionists in check.
Lecompton’s Constitution Hall was built in 1856 by pro-slavery Douglas County Sheriff Samuel Jones. (photo Frank Barthell)
The speeches were well documented. The interpreters were passionate about their messages, regardless of the side.
Recreator Paul Bahnmaier, speaking as Sheriff Jones, emphasized the legitimacy of Lecompton’s government while sidestepping the issue of legalizing slavery while primarily challenging the rights of abolitionists to reside in Kansas.
“Why did you come here?’ he asked. “Why didn’t you go to Minnesota or Nebraska, where you would be welcome? But no, you want to get your hands on the whole territory, but damn it, you won’t get it because it belongs to the South.’
Lecompton-born Bahnmaier created the town’s brand, Where slavery began to die. Republican Abraham Lincoln, he points out, was only elected in 1860 because of the split in the Democratic party. Ultimately, Topeka’s anti-slavery Constitution was ratified by the Senate – forty days after South Carolina seceded.
“Without this split, Lincoln would never have been elected president, and who knows how long slavery would have existed?” he said.
There’s even more history to learn in Lecompton. Pending congressional approval of Lecompton’s pro-slavery Constitution, construction began on a territorial capitol with a $50,000 federal appropriation. Yes, Kansas was that close to becoming a slave state!
Today the building houses the Territorial Capital Museum. Exhibitions on the politics of the 1950s and 1960s reveal the role Lecompton played in elections from Massachusetts to California. The small Democratic headquarters cabin nearby adds to the story of how Lecompton’s Constitution allowed Lincoln to be elected with just 39% of the vote.
The city provides a thorough introduction to the constitutional crisis in the story of the Border War. Kansas was not destined to enter the Union as a Free State. Achieving this required a number of articulate and committed abolitionists.
On the other hand, see what Reverend Samuel Adair, a relative of John Brown, noted about some of the self-proclaimed abolitionists who settled in the area. “Their free ground is free ground for white, but not for black. They hated slavery, but they hated the Negro even more.”
If this throwback surprises anyone, stay tuned.
Frank Barthell is a former video producer at the University of Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policy or excluded from public debate. Here you will find information, including how to submit your own comments.
