Kansas Politics 1859 Letter

Autograph Letter Signed by Walter W. Phillips, 3pp quarto, Auburn, Kansas Territory, July 31, 1859, with transmittal cover, and reads in part: "...The capitol of Kansas has been located at the city of Topeka, it is only a temporary location for a period of 5 years, but perhaps it will be permanent at least we hope so - it is believed that our new constitution will be ratified. There is a desperate struggle going on for the United States senatorship. Thatcher of the Republican will be a candidate M.F.Conway, James H. Lane, Judge Roberts, Gov. Robinson, a Mr. Winchel, a Mr. Danford of Weller County and several others - Conway will be one and I hope Lane will be the other - But I think Thatcher will get it…" Fine condition. In 1859, Kansas politics centered on the struggle over whether the territory would enter the Union as a free or slave state. After years of violence during the "Bleeding Kansas" era, the free-state movement gained a decisive advantage with the adoption of the Wyandotte Constitution in July 1859. Political leaders began positioning themselves for the election of the state's first U.S. senators once Congress admitted Kansas. The Republican Party, dominant among free-state settlers, was divided between moderate and radical factions, producing an intense contest among leading figures such as James H. Lane and Samuel C. Pomeroy. Although the Senate elections did not occur until after Kansas was admitted as the 34th state on January 29, 1861, the political alliances, rivalries, and legislative maneuvering that determined those choices were largely forged during 1859 as Republicans consolidated control and prepared Kansas to enter the Union as a free state.