"The Admission of Kansas" - March 31, 1858

The struggle for Kansas to gain admission to the Union went on for a number of years. The attempt, under the Topeka Constitution of 1855, which called for Kansas to be a non-slave state, failed. In 1857 another attempt at statehood was made under the Lecompton Constitution. The Lecompton Constitution was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas (it was preceded by the Topeka Constitution and was followed by the Leavenworth and Wyandotte Constitutions, the Wyandotte becoming the Kansas state constitution) This document was written in response to the anti-slavery position of the 1855 Topeka Constitution of the free-state advocates. The territorial legislature, consisting mostly of slave-owners, met at the designated capital of Lecompton in September 1857 to produce a rival document. This new constitution enshrined slavery in the proposed state and protected the rights of slaveholders. In addition, the constitution provided for a referendum that allowed voters the choice of allowing more slaves to enter the territory.

"The Admission of Kansas" -- Speech of Hon. John Thompson, of New York, in the House of Representatives, March 31, 1858 was given as part of the House debate on the admission of Kansas under the Lecompton constitution. Mr. Thompson is apparently getting tired of the fiery speeches on both sides of the controversy of the admission of Kansas as a free vs slave state, and attempts to cool tempers and seek a rational solution to the issue. He says "...Week after week we have listened to moral lectures on the evils of Slavery, from one party, met by a recital of its blessings, its Divine authority, and threats of disunuion if its political influence is abated, from the other party. Each accuses the other of designs to subvert its rights. The North fears she will be subjugated by the South; the South fancies she is to play the part of conquered provinces, chained to the wheels of Northern aggression. Higher and higher rises the cry of warning, remonstrance, and intimidation. Sir, is this fanatical game to go on unlimited and unrebuked?...".

The First Edition copy of the speech, as printed in 1858 by Buell & Blanchard, Printers, in Washington, D.C., is contained in a 16 page two-column booklet, without covers, that measures approximately 5 ¾ x 9 inches. The pages are lightly tanned, but the text is clear and easily read. There is occasional mild foxing on some pages. The overall condition of the item is good.

The illustrations accompanying this description show the title page and first page of the speech.

John Thompson (July 4, 1809 - June 1, 1890) was a U.S. Representative from New York. Thompson was elected as a Republican to the Thirty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1857-March 3, 1859). [Wikipedia]