Troubles in Kansas persisted into Buchanan's term. The territory had two governments, one legal but fraudulent, the other one representative but illegal. Governor Geary, appointed by President Pierce, tried to steer nonpartisan course but was unable to govern effectively. He was succeeded by President Buchanan's appointee, Robert J. Walker of Mississippi. A proslavery convention met in Lecompton to write a constitution for the territory, but the meeting was unrepresentative of territorial residents. The proposed constitution was submitted to the people for a vote. But since they could only vote for the constitution "with or without slavery," they did not have the option to reject it altogether. The "with" vote won, and President Buchanan submitted the Lecompton Constitution to Congress and recommended that Kansas come in as slave state. Stephen Douglas revolted against the President, calling the questionable constitutional vote a violation of popular sovereignty. Although the Senate voted to admit Kansas under the Lecompton Constitution, it was later put to the voters again. They rejected it by a wide margin, and thus Kansas remained a territory. Violence continued into 1858. In 1861 Kansas entered the Union as a free state under the Wyandotte Constitution as the "most Republican state in the Union."
Douglas's opposition shattered the Democratic Party when he broke with Buchanan over the issue. He also made himself unpopular in the South by doing so, further undermining his chance for the presidency.
World History
