Last updated: September 30, 2021
Lesson Plan
Chaos in Early Kansas Elections
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 30 Minutes
- Common Core Standards:
- 11-12.L.3, 6-8.RH.3
- State Standards:
- Kansas Eighth Grade, Social Studies Standard 2, Benchmark 2.1
Missouri 6-8, American History, Theme 1, E - Thinking Skills:
- Applying: Apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to a prior experience. Analyzing: Break down a concept or idea into parts and show the relationships among the parts.
Essential Question
How can we assure fair elections?
Objective
What does it mean to vote? When people vote does everyone always get what they want? Is there anything that you’ve voted on? When the majority of the people voted for something or someone different than what you voted for, how should you react?
Background
In 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas introduced a bill before Congress for the organization of two territories, Kansas, and Nebraska. The territories would be divided by the 40th parallel. In addition, the issue of slavery in the territories would be decided by popular sovereignty instead of by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Despite fierce opposition in the North by such abolitionists as Horace Greeley and William Lloyd Garrison, the bill passed on May 26, 1854, and was quickly signed by President Franklin Pierce.
Southern newspapers rejoiced that the territories had been opened to settlement for Southerners and their slaves. Northern abolitionists were not done fighting, however. They began organizing groups for the settlement of Kansas Territory to combat western Missourians who were by and large pro-slavery and had begun moving into the area. The best organized of these efforts was the Emigrant Aid Company of Massachusetts, also known as the New England Emigrant Aid Company. This organization, led by wealthy abolitionists, helped anti-slavery settlers move to Kansas. Anti-slavery settlers helped to found the cities of Topeka and Lawrence, while the cities of Atchison and Leavenworth were settled primarily by pro-slavery Missourians.
Unrest was a fact of life in Kansas Territory. Election fraud was common. Efforts to approve or reject specific constitutions were also disputed. The site of the capital was changed several times. One town, Pawnee, was the capital but the territorial legislature meet there for only six days before moving to Shawnee Indian Mission. Four different constitutions were written before Kansas became a state. The Lecompton constitution included a provision to allow slavery. At one point, two governments operated in Kansas. Supporters of slavery established a government according to federal guidelines in Lecompton. Those opposed to slavery claimed control in Topeka. Kansas had ten governors or acting governors in just six years. Kansas settlers had to deal with these disputes as they built homes, farms, and businesses.
The first governor of Kansas Territory was Andrew H. Reeder, who was appointed by President Franklin Pierce. The first election held in Kansas Territory took place on November 29, 1854, to elect a delegate to Congress. John W. Whitfield, a proslavery supporter, easily defeated two free state candidates. The election, however, was contested because large numbers of Missourians had crossed the border to vote. It has been estimated that 1,729 out of a total of 2,833 votes were cast illegally. Nevertheless, Whitfield was certified as elected. The same "influx" of voters occurred during the election of members for the first territorial legislature held March 30, 1855. Andrew Reeder, the territorial governor, declared the results void only in the six districts that filed protests; but in the process, he alienated proslavery inhabitants as well as the many free staters. Elections were held in these districts, but when the legislature finally convened it ousted those elected in May and reinstated those elected in March. Free staters referred to this group as the "Bogus Legislature" because, in their view, it had come to power by fraudulent means.
Paradoxically, they recognized some of the laws it passed such as those establishing county boundaries and local governing units.As a result of events like these, the political rivalry in the territory of Kansas was intense. It resulted, in part, in the convening of four constitutional conventions (Topeka, 1855; Lecompton, 1857; Leavenworth, 1858; and Wyandotte, 1859), each drafting a constitution under which the delegates hoped the territory would be admitted to the Union.
Preparation
.Prepare ballots in advance so that 1/3 of them are marked with an R (for registered voters) and the other two thirds are not marked with an R (meaning they are not registered voters.
Materials
Lesson Hook/Preview
When elections are held, does everyone get their own way? Is everyone happy with the outcome? In territorial Kansas , there were elections held where there were four times as many ballots cast as there were regeistered voters in a county.
Procedure
- As the presenter ask for two volunteers to run for public office. Assign one as Candidate A –the Free State candidate and the other as B-the Pro Slavery Candidate.
- Pick two students to be election judges. They are the ones that count the ballots.
- (Judges and candidates do not vote )
- Of the remaining students choose about ten percent of them and take them from the rest of the group, explain that they are to vote for candidate A. Ask the teacher to tell the rest of the group that they are to vote for candidate B.
- Bring the group back together and pass out ballots, have the kids write on the ballots as they were instructed and put them in the ballot box. When passing out the ballots to the kids, make sure that 1/3 of them , including all who are voting for candidate A, are marked with an R in the corner (indicating they are registered voters). The other two thirds of the ballots are not marked with an R. Once the voting is completed, have the election judges count the ballots. Have them count how many are for A and how many for B and announce the results and record those results on a chalkboard.
- Than have them go through the ballots and count how many Rs there are and how many don’t have Rs. Record those on the chalkboard as well.
- Explain now that those who didn’t have Rs are not registered voters and that candidate B was not even a resident of Bourbon County.
- Ask students who voted for Candidate A how they feel about having lost the election by such dubious means.
- Ask students who voted for Candidate B why people would go to such extremes to have their candidate win.
Vocabulary
popular sovereignty- a pre-Civil War doctrine asserting the right of the people living in a newly organized territory to decide by vote of their territorial legislature whether or not slavery would be permitted there