The Emergence of Lincoln 359Opinion of the Supreme Court for Dred
Scott v. Sanfordatwww.myhistorylab.com
Dred Scott & The Crises that led to the Civil War
atwww.myhistorylab.com
The Proslavery Lecompton Constitution
Kansas soon provided a test for northern suspicions.
Initially Buchanan handled the problem of Kansas well
by appointing Robert J. Walker as governor. Although
he was from Mississippi, Walker had no desire to foist
slavery on the territory against the will of its inhabi-
tants. He was a small man, only five feet tall, but he
had more political stature by far than any previous
governor of the territory. A former senator and
Cabinet member, he was also courageous, patriotic,
and tough-minded, much like Douglas in tempera-
ment and belief.
The proslavery leaders in Kansas had managed to
convene a constitutional convention at Lecompton,
but the Free Soil forces had boycotted the election of
WatchtheVideoReadtheDocumentdelegates. When this rump body drafted a proslavery
constitution and then refused to submit it to a fair
vote of all the settlers, Walker denounced its work and
hurried back to Washington to explain the situation
to Buchanan.
The president refused to face reality. His prosouth-
ern advisers were clamoring for him to “save” Kansas.
Instead of rejecting theLecompton constitution,he
asked Congress to admit Kansas to the Union with this
document as its frame of government.
Buchanan’s decision brought him head-on against
Stephen A. Douglas, and the repercussions of their
clash shattered the Democratic party. Principle and self-
interest (an irresistible combination) forced Douglas to
oppose the leader of his party. If he stood aside while
Congress admitted Kansas, he not only would be aban-
doning popular sovereignty, but he would be commit-
ting political suicide as well. He was up for reelection to
the Senate in 1858. All but one of the fifty-six news-
papers in Illinois had declared editorially against the
Lecompton constitution; if Douglas supported it, his
defeat was certain. In a dramatic confrontation at the
White House, he and Buchanan argued the question at
length, tempers rising. Finally, the president tried to
force him into line. “Mr. Douglas,” he said, “I desire
you to remember that no Democrat ever yet differed
from an Administration of his own choice without
being crushed.” “Mr. President,” Douglas replied con-
temptuously, “I wish you to remember that General
Jackson is dead!” And he stalked out of the room.
Buchanan then compounded his error by putting
tremendous political pressure on Douglas, cutting off
his Illinois patronage on the eve of his reelection cam-
paign. Of course Douglas persisted, openly joining
the Republicans in the fight. Congress rejected the
Lecompton bill.
Meanwhile, the extent of the fraud perpetrated at
Lecompton became clear. In October 1857 a new legis-
lature had been chosen in Kansas, antislavery voters par-
ticipating in the balloting. It ordered a referendum on
the Lecompton constitution in January 1858. This time
the proslavery settlers boycotted the vote and the consti-
tution was overwhelmingly rejected. When Buchanan
persisted in pressing Congress to admit Kansas under
the Lecompton constitution, Congress ordered another
referendum. To slant the case in favor of approval, the
legislators stipulated that if the constitution were voted
down, Kansas could not be admitted into the Union
until it had a population of 90,000. Nevertheless, the
Kansans rejected it by a ratio of six to one.The Emergence of Lincoln
These were dark days. During the Panic of 1857
Northerners put the blame for the hard times on the
southern-dominated Congress, which had just reducedDred Scott and his wife and children are featured on the cover of Frank
Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. Historian Joshua Brown argues in Beyond
the Lines(2002) that this publication was the precursor to today’s
popular newsmagazines. Its plentiful pictures were made possible by
the new technology of mass-produced wood engraving.