Leavenworth Constitution

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The Leavenworth Constitution was one of four proposed Kansas state constitutions. The Leavenworth Constitution was the most revolutionary of the four constitutions drafted in Kansas Territory. It contained a Bill of Rights which referred to "all men" and banned slavery from the state. The constitutional convention that framed the Leavenworth Constitution was provided for by an act of the Territorial Legislature passed in February, 1858, during the pendency of the Lecompton Constitution in Congress. The constitution was adopted by the convention at Leavenworth April 3, 1858, and by the people at an election held May 18, 1858. The conspicuous aspect of this Constitution was that it did not contain the word "white" (which would have been exclusive of free blacks) and provided a basic framework for the rights of women. The Leavenworth Constitution did not have a great impact on the history of Kansas as the United States Senate did not approve of the codified laws in the written document. The other proposed state constitutions were the Topeka Constitution (1855), the Lecompton Constitution (1857) and the Wyandotte Constitution (1859).