Page:Kansas A Cyclopedia of State History vol 1.djvu/28

 following the defeat of the amendment there was a disorderly scene in the senate chamber, caused by a multiplicity of motions to go into executive session, to adjourn, etc. The amendment had served the purpose of producing another delay in the final vote on the bill.

The following day the bill was again called up. This time Senator Fitch of Indiana had an amendment to offer, and again there was a long and tedious debate before the amendment was defeated. Some of the friends of the measure began to lose hope. This was the short session of Congress, and if the opponents could keep up their dilatory methods until March 3 the bill would have to go over to the next session. But the cloud that hung over Kansas was penetrated by a ray of light in an unexpected manner.

Five slave states had already seceded from the Union, and on Jan. 21 Senators J. M. Mason and R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia; A. P. Butler and R. B. Barnwell, of South Carolina; H. L. Turney, of Tennessee; Pierre Soule, of Louisiana; Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi; David R. Atchison, of Missouri; Jackson Morton and D. L. Yulee, of Florida, filed a protest against the action of the members of Congress from the northern states and withdrew from the senate. With their withdrawal the power of the slave oligarchy was broken. Scarcely had they left the hall, when Mr. Seward of New York moved to call up the Kansas admission bill, but was informed by the vice-president that no motion was necessary, as the bill was then the special order before the senate. The remaining senators from the slaveholding states indulged in some perfunctory debate, but they recognized the fact that their influence had vanished with the departure of their colleagues. The bill was soon passed by a vote of 36 to 16, and was signed by President Buchanan on the 29th.

The preamble of the bill recited the facts concerning the formation, adoption and ratification of the Wyandotte constitution, under which the state was asking for admission.

Section 1 provided “That the state of Kansas shall be, and is hereby declared to be, one of the United States of America, and admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatever.” The section then defined the boundaries (see Boundaries), and provided “That nothing contained in the said constitution respecting the boundaries of said state shall be construed to impair the rights of person or property now pertaining to the Indians in said territory, so long as such rights shall remain unextinguished by treaty between the United States and such Indians, or to include any territory which, by treaty with such Indian tribes, is not, without the consent of such Indian tribe, to be included within the territorial limits or jurisdiction of any other state or territory; but all such territory shall be excepted out of the boundaries, and constitute no part of the State of Kansas, until said tribe shall signify their assent to the president of the United States to be included within said state,” etc.

Section 2 provided that until the next enumeration and apportionment