Leavenworth Constitution Approved by Voters

Tuesday, May 18, 1858

John Ritchie, an abolitionist who worked on the Underground Railroad and served as a delegate to the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention. Courtesy of the Kansas Historical Society.

Following a constitutional convention in Leavenworth, Kansas, voters approve the Leavenworth Constitution. It apparently extends equal rights to all men, regardless of race, and extends some additional rights to women. However, the U.S. Senate rejects Kansas's admission as a state under the Leavenworth Constitution, and its progressive provisions fail to become law.