A standard history of Kansas and Kansans, Volume II, Part 12

Author: Connelley, William Elsey, 1855-1930. cn
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis
Number of Pages: 632


USA > Kansas > A standard history of Kansas and Kansans, Volume II > Part 12


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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For authorizing the special session of the Legislature, Acting- Governor Stanton had been removed, and James W. Denver, Commis- sioner of Indian Affairs, who chanced to be then in the Territory, was appointed to his place. The active opposition of Denver to the movement for the Leavenworth Constitution succeeded in casting doubt on the legality of the Legislative act authorizing the convention.2 But not- withstanding the antagonism of the Acting-Governor, the movement was carried forward. The delegates were elected March 9, 1858, abont nine thousand votes having been cast. On the 23d of March they met at Minneola, a town in Franklin County, which the Legislature had made the Territorial capital over the veto of the Governor. It developed that many members of the Legislature were stockholders in the town company, and the matter came soon to be known as the "Minneola swindle." The Territorial officials refused to take their offices to the new capital, and by the time fixed for the meeting of the convention the scandal had become notorious. Many of the delegates wished to adjourn to some other place, but others, who had large interests in the new town, threat-


2 See address delivered by Denver at the Old Settlers' Meeting, Bis- marek Grove, Lawrence, September 3, 1884, reprinted in Vol. 3. Kansas Historical Collections, p. 359 et seq. Some of his statements are much exaggerated.


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KANSAS AND KANSANS


ened to desert the Free-State party and break it up if such adjournment, was taken. The matter was debated all night. Lane, who had been elected president, took the floor in favor of adjournment and delivered one of the most dramatic and powerful specehes of his life.3 The convention adjourned to Leavenworth, where it met on the 25th of March. Eighty-four members were in attendance. At Leavenworth Lane resigned as president, and M. F. Conway was elected to that place. Samuel F. Tappan, a member of the company of "Grizzlies" and one of Plumb's companions through Iowa and Nebraska, was secretary.


The convention was perhaps the most brilliant body which ever assembled in Kansas. Many of these delegates afterward attained dis- tinguished honors. There was Lane, the sword and shield of the Free- State movement, later United States Senator, a Major-General, and one of the chief advisers of President Lincoln. Thomas Ewing, Jr., was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Colonel of the Eleventh Kansas, a Brigadier-General, and Commander of the District of the Border : he was elected to Congress from Ohio, and was a lawyer in New York City. Robert B. Mitchell was a fine soldier, a Major-General, and Governor of New Mexico. J. M. Walden became a Bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. H. P. Johnson, a Colonel in the Union army, fell at the head of his troops at Morristown, Mo. Martin F. Conway was the first mem- ber of Congress from Kansas. Edward Lynde was Colonel of the Ninth Kansas. There were James M. Winchell, S. N. Wood, T. Dwight Thacher, William W. Ross, James S. Emery, and many others who had fought in the Free-State ranks, and who were long foremost in the public affairs of Kansas.


Preston B. Plumb was a delegate from his county. This was his first experience in a deliberative body. He was just past twenty, but had the appearance and manner of one of mature life and intellect. Ile took a prominent part in the proceedings of the convention, his intense earnest- ness, his common-sense views, his devotion to the Free-State cause, all serving to secure him recognition and attention. IIe acquitted himself well. The favorable impression he made was of much assistance to him


3 T. Dwight Thacher. a delegate, thus described this speech :


"The night was far spent. The candles had burned down in their sockets. The debate had been long and at times angry. Some of the members were deeply interested in Minneola, and in their excitement they threatened that if the convention should adjourn from Minneola they would abandon the Free-State party and break it up. This threat aroused the sleeping lion in Lane. Ile came down from the chair, where he had presided with great fairness during the debate, and took the floor. All eyes were upon him. The drowsy members sat upright. As he procceded with his speech the interest intensified, and members began to gather round him, sitting upon the desks and standing in the aisles. I shall never forget the seene-the dimly-lighted room; the darkness without ; the excited men within; little Warren, the Sergeant-at-Arms, standing uneonscious upon the floor, with partly outstretched arms, and wholly carried away by the speech: and Lane himself aroused to a pitch of exeitement which I never saw him manifest on any other occasion during his whole career."-See Kansas Historical Collections, Vol. 3, p. 13.


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KANSAS AND KANSANS


later in life, and the friendships formed there continued long into the future. The attachment between him and Ewing resulted in mutnal confidence and reciprocal favors for many years. His observation of the political methods of his associates gave him an insight into the manner of solving great political problems.4 His service in this convention was one of the events of his life of which he always spoke with pride and satisfaction.


THE HANGING OF RUSSELL HINDS


The disorders in Southeastern Kansas continued to some extent until the beginning of the Civil War. In the fall of 1860 a slave ran away from his master, who lived near Pleasant Gap, Missouri. This slave stopped at the house of John O. Turner, who lived near the present town of Pleasanton. The slave remained a few days at Turner's house, Mr. Turner trying all the time to get him to return to his master. It seems that the master and Mr. Turner were personal friends. Turner's efforts were finally successful, and the slave concluded to go back. One Russell Hinds, a Missourian, and Mr. Turner went with the slave to the master's honse. The usual reward for returning a slave was $25.00. This reward was tendered, but neither Hinds nor Turner would accept it, but Hinds did take $5.00 as a reimbursement for expenses.


At this time C. R. Jennison, later Colonel of the Fifteenth Kansas, was in command of some of the Free-State men in the troubles then existing along the border. Samuel Scott, a leading Pro-Slavery man was hanged by Jennison, and John W. Garrett would have been hanged if he could have been captured. On the 12th of November, 1860, Jen- nison's command, consisting of nine men, captured Russell Hinds about two miles east of Pleasanton. As the party was taking IFinds to a place of execution, Turner with his team and wagon, was met in the road three-quarters of a mile west of his house. Jennison did not know Turner. Some of his men had met Turner in the Masonic Lodge, and by signs cautioned him not to reveal his identity. Hinds, although knowing that he would soon be hanged, remained quiet also. If Jen-


4 The Leavenworth Constitution was the most able and perhaps the best constitution of the four formed for Kansas. The old Free-State or Topeka Constitution was the model after which it was written, but it was greatly superior in every way. All class distinctions were obliterated and the free negro was a competent elector. In fact, it was held by some that the right of unrestricted suffrage was conferred on women, the term "universal suffrage" being construed as giving the right, which, in all probability, it did. The western boundary of the state was fixed at the crest of the Rocky Mountains. The constitution was viciously assailed hy the Pro-Slavery party. The struggle to avoid admission under the Lecompton Constitution engrossed the attention of the people, and while the Leavenworth Constitution was adopted, the vote was small, and it was buried in the archives of the United States Senate when presented to that body with a prayer that Kansas be admitted with it as the fundamental law.


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KANSAS AND KANSANS


nison had known who Turner was, he would have met the fate soon to be meted out to Hinds, who was hanged on Mine Creek, in the timber, near the Missouri line.


Montgomery did not know that Hinds was to be hanged, but the act met with his approval. He wrote the following explanation of the occurrence, which he handed to Judge James Hanway :


Russ Hinds, hung the 12th day of November, 1860, for manstealing. He was a drunken border ruffian, worth a great deal to hang, but good for nothing else. He had eaught a fugitive slave, and carried him back to Missouri for the sake of a reward. He was condemned by a jury of twelve men. the law being found in the 16th verse of Exodus xxi.


The Scripture referred to reads as follows: "And he that steal- eth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand he shall surely be put to death.


RESIGNATION OF DENVER


Governor Denver resigned his office October 10th, 1858. He was the first governor not removed or compelled to resign. 'And his ad- ministration was much more satisfactory to the President than to the people of Kansas. In after years he said that in his residence in Mis- souri he had "chummed" with Senator Atchison and other Pro-Slavery leaders there, and could not bring himself to incur their displeasure in the administration of Kansas affairs.5


5 Governor Denver returned to Washington, and was reappointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Becoming dissatisfied with this posi- tion, in the spring of 1859 he resigned, and returned to California. In the eanvass of 1860 he favored Senator Douglas and opposed secession. The Legislature, in 1861, appointed him one of the commissioners to adjust Indian-raid claims. Ile left California in June, 1861, and on August 14th President Lincoln appointed him brigadier-general of volun- teers ; he was assigned to duty in Kansas in the following November. He was sent to West Virginia in January, 1862, but returned to Kansas in March. In May he was ordered to report to General HIalleck, at Pitts- burg Landing, and assigned to duty under General Sherman, having command of the brigade composed of the Forty-eighth, Fifty-third, Sev- entieth and Seventy-seeond Ohio regiments, in the advance on Corinth, Mississippi. From Corinth he was sent to Memphis; and from that point marched to Holly Springs, which town he captured. He returned to Memphis, and was put in command of Fort Pickering, where he remained until November, 1862. He was ordered to take part in the movement against Vicksburg, but only arrived at Oxford, Miss., beyond which it was impossible to transport his supplies because of the destrue- tion of the railroads. The winter of 1862-3 he spent in LaGrange, Tennessee. In the spring of 1863 he resigned his position in the army to attend to private business, and did not again take part in the war. At the close of the war he resumed the practice of law in Washington, in partnership with Hon. James Ilughes of Indiana and A. J. Isacks of Kansas.


CHAPTER XXXVIII


SAMUEL MEDARY


BIOGRAPHY AND APPOINTMENT


Samuel Medary was born in Montgomery Square, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, February 25, 1801. He died in Columbus, Ohio, November 7, 1864, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. The name was originally written Madeira, and is yet pronounced as if so written.


His mother's ancestors came to America with William Penn, and he was brought up in the Quaker faith. He attended an academy at Norristown, but did not complete the course of that institution. He taught in the rural schools of his native county at an early age, and at the same time pursued the branches of higher learning. At the age of sixteen he was a contributor to the newspaper (Herald) of his native village, writing creditably both poetry and prose. In 1820 he removed with his parents to Montgomery county, Maryland, and in 1823 to Georgetown, D. C. Young Medary remained here for two years, and in 1825 removed to Batavia, Clermont county, Ohio. He was something of an agitator, and early manifested an interest in poli- tics. He favored Andrew Jackson for President, and in 1828 estab- lished the Ohio Sun to aid in his election. In 1834 he was elected as a Jackson Democrat to a seat in the Ohio Legislature. In 1836 he was elected to the State Senate, and at the expiration of his term, in 1838, he removed to Columbus, Ohio, and purchased the Western Hemisphere, the name of which he afterwards changed to the Ohio Statesman. This paper he edited until 1857. He was a forceful and logical writer, and made his paper a power in the Ohio Valley. He was a staunch sup- porter of all the measures proposed by "Old Hickory," who honored him with his personal esteem and confidence. In the controversy over the Oregon boundary he originated the cry, "fifty-four forty or fight," and it became the cry of his party. Stephen A. Douglas stood for this boundary, and his position gained him the friendship of Mr. Medary. Medary became prominent in State politics, and in 1844 was chair- man of the Ohio delegation to the national Democratic convention at Baltimore. He carried a letter from General Jackson instructing him to present the name of James K. Polk for the nomination for President in case of disagreement of any serions nature among the delegates as to a suitable candidate. When the convention was in an uproar and in danger of going to pieces, Mr. Medary produced his letter, and James


695


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KANSAS AND KANSANS


K. Polk was at once nominated by acclamation for the Presidency. In 1853 Mr. Medary was tendered the position of United States Minister to Chili, which he declined. He was the temporary President of the Democratic convention held in Cincinnati that nominated James Bu- chanan for President, and labored ineffectually for the nomination of his friend and favorite, Stephen A. Douglas. He was the last Terri- torial Governor of Minnesota, holding that position during the years 1857 and 1858. He was appointed Governor of Kansas Territory upon the resignation of Governor Denver; his oath of office is dated December 1, 1858. He arrived at Lecompton and assumed the duties of his office December 18th.


The great battle for liberty had been fought and won in Kansas before Governor Medary's appointment. The action of Walker and Stanton which resulted in giving the Free-State men the Territorial Legislature may be considered the event which firmly established the supremacy of all the principles opposed in Kansas by the slave-power. It is true that battles were yet to be fought and much injustice borne, but these grew more insignificant in proportion to the rapid increase of the power of the Free-State party. The troubles in Southeastern Kansas were serions, but they never at any time threatened the exter- mination of the Free-State men as did those about Lawrence. The disorders in Linn and Bourbon counties continued throughout the term of Governor Medary's administration, and in fact the feuds did not cease until after the close of the Civil War; there were long periods of inactivity and comparative peace between the ontbreaks.


WYANDOTTE CONSTITUTION


But while the administration of Governor Medary was devoid of those exciting events which marked the terms of his predecessors, it witnessed much that had a lasting effect upon the future greatness of the Commonwealth. The formation of the present constitution of the State was perhaps the most important work accomplished by the people in that time. It was clear that neither the Lecompton nor Leavenworth constitutions would ever become the fundamental law of the land. The Topeka Constitution had passed away with the conditions which produced it. People poured in from all the free States, and the pres- ence of these new citizens gave breadth to the discussions of measures proposed for the coming State. And the people were gaining experi- ence in the practical administration of government. It was the pre- vailing opinion that a new constitutional convention should be called. The Legislature which convened January 3d, 1859, enacted a law pro- viding for "the formation of a Constitution and State Government." The act was approved by Governor Medary, February 9, 1859. It con- tained a proviso for ascertaining whether a constitution should be formed at that time. To determine this matter an election was to be held on the 4th Monday in March, 1859, the ballots to read, "For a Consti- tution," or "Against a Constitution." Should the vote favor a con-


.


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KANSAS AND KANSANS


stitution, the act provided that fifty-two delegates to a Constitutional Convention should be elected on the first Tuesday of June, 1859. These delegates were to assemble in the city of Wyandotte on the first Tues- day in July, and there proceed to form a constitution for the State of Kansas. The constitution so formed was to be submitted to a direct vote of the people, for approval or rejection, on the first Tuesday of October, 1859. In case the constitution should be ratified, the act pro- vided that all State officers, members of the State Legislature, and


GOV. SAMUEL MEDARY


[Copy by Willard of Portrait in Library of Kansas State Historical Society ]


Judges, were to be elected on the first Tuesday of December, 1859. Pursuant to this act, Governor Medary called an election for the 28th of March for the purpose of finding whether the people desired a con- stitution. On the 16th day of April the Governor issued a proclamation declaring the result of the election held March 28. The vote stood : for a constitution, 5,306; against a constitution, 1,425; total 6,731.


On the 19th day of April, Governor Medary ealled an election for delegates and for the meeting of said delegates in convention, pursuant to the act of the Legislature. The election was held on the 7th of June, and resulted in the election of the following named delegates.


Avocation


P. O. Address


Where born


County


Names


Farmer


J. M. Arthur.


. Linn


. Kentucky


Atchison


Mass


Caleb May ..


Brown


Mass.


S. A. Kingman.


Atchison


Ohio


42


Merchant


John P. Greer.


Douglas


Pennsylv.


23


Lawyer


.I. A.


Middleton


Paola


33


B.


F. Simpson.


Douglas


New Hamp.


Farmer


11.


=


Preston


Bourbon


Marmaton


42


Merchant


W


Griffith


Baldwin City


50


Lawyer


BInod ..


Granada


35


Lawyer


Wright.


Emporia


25


Lawyer


G. 11 Lillie ..


Neosho


31


Farmer


. Woodson


Burlington


40


Physician


A. Crocker


. Louisville


33


lA R. Palmer.


. Walker


49


Farmer


Jas. G. Blunt.


.Shermanville


35


Farmer


Jas. Hanway


Lawrence


39


Merchant


W. Hutchinson


. Douglas


Vermont


28


Lawyer


.Jag. Blood


Douglas


. Pennsylv.


10


Farmer


Ed. Stokes


Douglas


Ohio


30


Lawyer


S. D. Houston.


. Leavenworth


44


Farmer


J. P. Slongh.


Council Grove


30


Merchant


W


Mccullough


. Oskaloosa


10


Mereliant


B. Mcclelland


. Doniphan


4.7


Farmer


J.


Forman.


. Palermo


30


J.


Stiarwalt


Highland


26


Lawyer


E


M. Hubbard


Leavenworth


Germany


28


I.and Agent


Leavenworth


Pennsylv.


26


Lawyer


Sam'I Hippie


Leavenworth


31


Lawyer


S. A. Stinson.


Leavenworth


31


Farmer


Wm. 'C. McDowell


Leavenworth


33


Farmer


Leavenworth


Indiana


28


Lawver


John Wright


Leavenworth


24


Lawyer


W'm. Perry


Delaware


55


Merchant


R (. Foster


Atchison


Virginia


38


Manufacturer


J. T. Barton.


Holton


29


₣. Moore


. Doniphan


New Hamp.


41


Farmer


W. P. Dutton.


Printer


J. Ritchie


Glenross


25


Surveyor


E.


G. Rosq ...


. Humboldt


28


R. . 1.


Porter ..


Superior


28


Lawyer


J. M.


. Johnson


.Olathe


J. T . Burris. .


The Constitutional Convention assembled at Wyandotte on the 5th day of July and organized by the election of the following named officers.


Where born


Age


Avocation


Names


Farmer


J. M. Winchell ..


. President


. Osage


Atchison


Atchison


John A. Martin.


. Secretary


.Sergeant- at-Arms


. Douglas


B'ldwin City


Maine


G. F. Warren.


Office


County


P. O. Address


. New York


35


Superior


. Pennsylv.


21


Farmer


R.


WHhams.


. Marshall


. Ohio


. Lykins


New Hamp.


28


Farmer


Townsend


Shawnee


Vermont


39


Farmer


C. Burnett.


Bourbon


Vermont


Douglas


Pennsylv.


Nemaha


Ohio


. Madison


Pennsylva.


E. Hoffman.


. Coffey


New York


Physician


Pottawatomie


Maine


Anderson


England


Franklin


Vermont


Douglas


New York


35


Manufacturer


S. O. Thacher.


. Riley


Ohio


Morris


. Ohio


Jefferson


. Kentucky


Doniphan


. Ohio


Merchant


Doniphan


Kentucky


Indiana


Manufacturer


P


s. Parks


. Leavenworth


Fred Brown


Leavenworth


, Maine


. Leavenworth


Ohio


Leavenworth


Ohio


A D. Mcl'une.


Leavenworth


New York


Leavenworth


Ireland


28


Physician


Itobt. Graham


Olathe


Ohio


Lawyer


Jackson


Ohio


42


Farmer


B.


Wrigley


Lyking


. Ohio


32


Shawnee


Ohio


Wahaunsee


New York


Merchant


J. H. Signor.


. Allen


Pennsylv.


33


Farmer


. Doniphan


New York


Winchell


. Osage


Ohio


42


Mound City


Indiana


44


Farmer


Josiah Lamb


. Pardee


38


Lawyer


Hiawatha


24


Lawyer


Sumner


38


Lawyer


J. J. Ingalls ..


Topeka


, Shawnee


Kentucky


25


Lawyer


Nottingham


Lawyer


Big Springs


Burlingame


Mapleton


Indiana


Age


42


.Indiana


. Centreville


Mechanic


Linn


Leavenworth


Leavenworth


Kentucky


Atchison


Johnson


Troy


.Stanton


+ Topeka


Doniphan


KIckapon


Leavenworth


Leavenworth


Scotland


Lawrence


. Lawrence


Clinton


. Manhattan


Indiana


Franklin


Troy


Editor


699


KANSAS AND KANSANS


The membership of this convention included men who had been in Kansas a sufficient length of time to be perfectly familiar with the conditions in the Territory and the needs of the coming State. They were not generally, however, the men who had been active in the con- fiets with the Border-Ruffians, though Caleb May had been in the con- vention which formed the Topeka Constitution. Many of them became prominent in the Civil War and in the affairs of the State and were found in public life for nearly half a century. The convention com- pleted its labors and adjourned on the 29th day of July. The con- stitution which it formed remains the fundamental law of the State of Kansas to this day. It is remarkable that so strong an instrument should have been drawn. It has been amended by conferring addi- tional powers, but not in the manner of repealing any provision. It is a very liberal constitution. It has been said time and again, that the distribution of estates under this constitution and the statutes made in conformity thereto is the best ever devised. The boundaries of the State remained as in the Kansas-Nebraska bill except that the 25th meridian of longitude west from Washington was made the western boundary. That left the state two hundred miles wide and four hun- dred miles long, with an area of 80,000 square miles.


The constitution was submitted to the people at an election called for the 4th of October, 1859. The vote at the election stood as fol- lows: for the constitution, 10,421; against the constitution, 5,530. The homestead clause of the constitution was submitted to a vote of the people at the same election. The vote on the homestead clause stood : for the homestead clause, 8,788; against the homestead clause, 4,772.


On the 8th of November occurred the Territorial election for Del- egate in Congress. The Democratic candidate was Saunders W. John- ston; and Marcus J. Parrott was the Republican candidate. Parrott was elected by a majority of more than two thousand. On the same day was held the election for a Territorial Legislature.


The Republican State Convention was held at Topeka on the 12th of October. A full ticket was nominated for State officers under the Wyandotte Constitution. The election for State officers and a Repre- sentative to Congress was held on the 6th of December. Charles Rob- inson was elected Governor; Joseph P. Root, Lieutenant Governor; John W. Robinson, Secretary of State; William Tholen, Treasurer; George S. Hillyer, Auditor; William R. Griffith, Superintendent of Public Instruction ; Thomas Ewing, Jr., Chief Justice : Samuel A. Kingman and Lawrence D. Bailey, Associate Justices; Benjamin F. Simpson, Attorney General; Martin F. Conway, Representative to Congress.


Thus was made ready a State Government for Kansas. It remained only for Congress to pass an Enabling Act to provide the State with an independent government, free from interference from any quarter.


This same Legislature repealed the bogus laws in bulk, but this was not deemed a sufficient eondemnation of the infamous code : upon


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KANSAS AND KANSANS


the adjournment of the Legislature a copy of it was publicly burned in the streets of Lawrence by the members.


The Pro-Slavery party had been known under various names, but it always stood for the same principles. It was know at this time as the National Democratie party. On May 12th the old Free-State party held a convention at Big Springs; it adopted resolutions favoring the continuance of that organization until after the admission of Kansas as a State. Frederick P. Stanton was one of the leaders in this move- ment to continue the old Free-State party. The effort was a failure; the people did not sustain the action of its members. The grand old party had done a noble work for Kansas and humanity, but found that later years brought conditions and problems for which it made no provision. Its work was done and well done. It died upon the ground which gave it birth. From its ruins sprang the Republican party of Kansas, which was organized at Osawatomie, May 18th, 1859.


FRAUDULENT TERRITORIAL BONDS




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