Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/312



The counties of Kishkekosh and Appanoose were created. The county of Madison was established in the Half-breed Tract, embracing a portion of Lee, with the county-seat at Nashville. An attempt was made to repeal the charter of the Miners’ Bank, the only one in the Territory because it had suspended specie payment and been badly managed. The Territory had borrowed $5,500 of the bank which it was unable to pay, and, under these circumstances, a majority of the members refused to force the bank out of existence.

At the election held in April for a convention to frame a state constitution, the vote stood 6,719 for a convention, to 3,974 against, being a majority of 2,745 for the convention. Governor Chambers issued a proclamation for the election of seventy-three Delegates for this purpose at the August election. Party nominations were made and the Democrats elected a large majority of the delegates.

Among the men of note chosen to frame a constitution were: Ex-Governor Lucas, Shepherd Leffler, J. C. Hall, James Grant, Stephen Hempstead and Francis Gehon, Democrats; Ralph P. Lowe, Elijah Sells, Ebenezer Cook and Stephen B. Shelledy, Whigs. The Whigs generally favored the establishment of a banking system, while a large majority of the Democrats were opposed to banks, either State or National, and to the issue of paper currency. The convention assembled at Iowa City on the 17th of October, 1844, and organized by the election of Shepherd Leffler, of Des Moines County, President; and George S. Hampton, of Johnson County, Secretary. It remained in session until the First of November, framing a constitution and fixing the boundaries of the proposed State to include a large portion of southern Minnesota. The boundaries as fixed by this convention were as follows: the south line between Iowa and Missouri as it is now; the west line the middle of the channel of the Missouri River, north to the mouth of the Big Sioux, thence in a direct line in a northeasterly direction to the middle of the channel of