LECOMPTON CONSTITUTION. In Ameri can history. a form of government for the State (then the Territory) of Kansas, adopted by convention. of disputed legality, held at leconip ton, Nam, October-November, 1537. The Le comploin Constitution oleelared the right of slaveholders in Kansas to their slaves to be inviolable, prohibited the Legislature from pass ing any act, of emancipation. and forbade any amendment of the instrument before 15,04. The Constitution itself was not submitted even in form to the people; they were only to be allowed to vote upon the question whether they would have the 'Constitution with slav ery' or the 'Constitution with no slavery.' the instrument being so worded that in either ease it would fasten slavery upon the State, there being a clause to the etTect that the right to slaves already held in Kansas was inalienable. The Constitution was thus formally submitted to the electors December 21. 1557. For its adop tion 'with slavery' the vote returned was 132130. more than half of which was from the (-inutile: along the loonier, whose whole num be• of voters. according to the census. dill not exceed 11100. For the Constitution 'with no slavery' 369 votes were retuned. but the great
body of the free-State well declined to vote at all. regarding the election as a fraud and a farce. The legally constituted Territorial Legislature, controlled by the free-State men. submitted the same instrument to the eonsideration of the of Kansas. January 4. 1535, and the result was a vote of 10,•213 against it. and of less than 200 in its favor. The question was carried to Congress, where the Senate voted to admit Kansas with this Constitution. The louse, how ever. rejected this hill, and after a conference of committees both Houses agreed on the so-called English Bill. This, among other things, pro vided for a second submission of the Leeompton Constitution. the accept auto of which by the people was made a sine qua non as regards the immediate admission of Kansas into the Union. On August 2. 1555. the Constitution was again rejected by a majority of 10,000. This virtually ended the struggle for the establishment of slav ery in Kansas. An anti-slavery Constitution was framed and adopted in 1559, and the State was admitted to the Union, January 29. 1801. See KANSAS.