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 382

LESTER BURRELL SHIPPEE

Neither party nor sectional lines offer any adequate explanation so far as the Senate is concerned. The explanation of the opposition so far as the Republican vote is concerned,

may be derived from the action of the House at and the following session. There were two grounds; the less important was that of population, the more important was connected with the all-powerful slavery issue in its however, this

relation to party politics.

tution licans

By allowing the Lecompton constigo before the people of Kansas again the Repubhad deviated somewhat from a consistent course, a

bill

to

course they probably would not have taken had they not believed the free State population was strong enough to defeat the slavery provisions of the constitution. In the case of Ore-

gon, even though slavery was not to be allowed, the freenegro clause was in conflict with their constitutional views on the power of any State to exclude citizens of the United States. Besides all this, and most potent of all, was the belief

Oregon was overwhelmingly Democratic, and her admiswould mean a Democratic delegation in both houses. While one Democratic Representative in the lower house would not make much difference, two Democrats added to the small number of the Senate would be maintaining too well the prethat

sion

ponderance of Democracy in the upper house. the Thirty- fifth Congress adjourned final action on Oregon.

The people see

the

of

Oregon

fulfillment

stitutional convention

of

felt

their

its

Consequently without

first session

sure that the next session would hopes,

hence,

since

the

National officers in July of 1858, they proceeded to

ready their cess.

The

con-

had provided for an election of State and

make

governmental machinery against the day of sucRepublicans of the United States could see in the

what they had feared, for three DemoLa Fayette were to represent Oregon in Congress. Grover was elected Representative, and the Democratic Legislature elected Joseph Lane and Delazon Smith to the Senate. result of the elections

crats

Lane, therefore, went to Washington as a Delegate of the terIt was ritory and as a Senator from the prospective State.