Английская Википедия:1855 Kansas Territory elections

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Шаблон:Campaignbox Bleeding Kansas The 1855 Kansas Territory elections were a series of pivotal moments in the "Bleeding Kansas" conflict between pro-slavery individuals and "Free-Staters" in Kansas Territory. The initial elections for territorial legislature, held on March 30, 1855, were marred by widespread voter fraud and intimidation, as pro-slavery forces from neighboring Missouri crossed the border to cast ballots and suppress anti-slavery voters. In response, Kansas Territorial governor, Andrew H. Reeder, ordered new elections to be held on May 22 in certain districts. But even after the corrective elections, pro-slavery candidates still managed to win a majority of seats in the territorial legislature. When the legislature convened in July, it prompted ejected all of the Free-State candidates who had won seats in the May elections. This act led to many Kansans lambasting the body as the "Bogus Legislature."

In October 1855, elections were held for a Congressional delegate to represent Kansas Territory in the House of Representatives. Pro-slavers held their elections on October 1 and choose John Wilkins Whitfield, whereas Free-Staters held theirs on October 8 and selected Reeder. Whitfield was initially seated as the lawful delegate, but after Reeder petitioned the House, the seat was vacated on August 1, 1856 and a new election was ordered.

Territorial legislature election results

Territorial Council results

Шаблон:Infobox election

Summary of the 1855 Kansas Territory Council election results
Файл:Kansas Territory 1855 Elections Council.svg
Faction March 30 elections May 22 elections Total seats
Pro-slavery 10 0 10
Free-State 1 2 3Шаблон:Efn-lr
Source: Шаблон:Cite book

March 30 election results

Council District 1[1][2]
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery Thomas Johnson
Edward Chapman
900Шаблон:Efn-lr 79.08
Free-State Joel K. Goodwin
Samuel Newitt Wood
273 23.08
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 10 0.84
Total votes cast 1,183
Illegally cast[2] 827 69.91
Pro-slavery gain[3]
Council District 2[2]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Pro-slavery A. McDonald 318 96.36
Free-State J. A. Wakefield 12 3.64
Total votes cast 330
Illegally cast[2] 316 95.76
Results abrogated; new election ordered[4]
Council District 3[2]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Pro-slavery H. S. Strickler 598 92.71
Free-State William F. Johnson 23 3.56
Free-State Шаблон:Emdash Rice 17 2.64
Free-State A. McDonald 4 0.62
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 3 0.46
Total votes cast 645Шаблон:Efn-lr
Illegally cast[2] 547 84.81
Results abrogated; new election ordered[4]
Council District 4[2]
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery A. M. Coffee
David Lykins
680 79.53
Free-State M. G. Morris
James P. Fox
158 18.47
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 17 1.99
Total votes cast 855
Illegally cast[2] 630 73.68
Pro-slavery gain[3]
Council District 5[2]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Pro-slavery William Barbee 343 100
Total votes cast 343
Illegally cast[2] 243 70.84
Pro-slavery gain[3]
Council District 6[1][2]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Free-State Martin F. Conway 139Шаблон:Efn-lr 66.51
Pro-slavery John Donaldson 68Шаблон:Efn-lr 32.54
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 2 0.96
Total votes cast (Election Districts 9-12) 540Шаблон:Efn-lr
Total votes cast (Election Districts 9-10, 12) 209Шаблон:Efn-lr
Illegally cast (Election Districts 9-12) 345Шаблон:Efn-lr 63.89
Illegally cast (Election Districts 9-10, 12) 21Шаблон:Efn-lr 10.04
Free-State gain[3]
Council District 7[2]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Pro-slavery John W. Foreman 478 100
Total votes cast 478
Illegally cast[2] 207 43.30
Pro-slavery gain[3]
Council District 8[2]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Pro-slavery W. P. Richardson 234 77.48
Free-State John W. Whitehead 68 22.52
Total votes cast 302
Illegally cast[2] 166 55.00
Pro-slavery gain[3]
Council District 9[2]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Pro-slavery D. A. M. Grover 411 99.76
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 1 0.24
Total votes cast 412
Illegally cast[2] 332 80.58
Pro-slavery gain[3]
Council District 10[1][2]
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery R. R. Rees
J. J. Eastin
1,129 94.48
Free-State B. H. Twombly
A. J. Whitney
66Шаблон:Efn-lr 5.52
Total votes cast 1,195Шаблон:Efn-lr
Illegally cast[2] 1,044Шаблон:Efn-lr 86.57
Pro-slavery gain[3]

May 22 election results

Council District 2[3]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Free-State J. A. Wakefield 127 100
Total votes cast 127
Free-State gain[3]
Council District 3[3]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Free-State Jesse D. Wood 214 86.64
Free-State C. H. Washington 33 13.36
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 14 0.84
Total votes cast 247
Free-State gain[3]

Territorial House results

Шаблон:Infobox election

Summary of the 1855 Kansas Territory House of Representatives election results
Файл:Kansas Territory 1855 Elections House.svg
Faction March 30 elections May 22 elections Total seats
Pro-slavery 15 3 18
Free-State 2 6 8Шаблон:Efn-lr
Source: Шаблон:Cite book

March 30 election results

House District 1[1][5]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Pro-slavery A. S. Johnson 120 84.51
Free-State A. F. Powell 19 13.38
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 3 2.11
Total votes cast 142Шаблон:Efn-lr
Illegally cast[5] 65Шаблон:Efn-lr 45.77
Pro-slavery gain[3]
House District 2[1][5]
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery Jatues Whitlock
J. M. Banks
A. B. Wade
781 74.81
Free-State John Hutchison
E. D. Ladd
P. P. Fowler
253 24.23
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 10 0.96
Total votes cast 1,044Шаблон:Efn-lr
Illegally cast[5] 802Шаблон:Efn-lr 76.82
Results abrogated; new election ordered[4]
House District 3[1][5]
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery G. W. Ward
O. H. Brown
318 93.26
Free-State Isaac Davis
E. G. Macy
12 3.52
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 11 3.23
Total votes cast 341
Illegally cast[5] 316 31.09
Results abrogated; new election ordered[4]
House District 4[1][5]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Pro-slavery D. L. Croysdale 366 98.65
Free-State Cyrus K. Holliday 4 1.08
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 1 0.27
Total votes cast 371Шаблон:Efn-lr
Illegally cast[5] 338Шаблон:Efn-lr 91.11
Results abrogated; new election ordered[4]
House District 5[1][5]
Faction Candidates Votes %
Free-State A. J. Baker 25Шаблон:Efn-lr 64.10
Pro-slavery M. W. McGee 12Шаблон:Efn-lr 30.77
Free-State H. Rice 0Шаблон:Efn-lr 0
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 2 5.13
Total votes cast (Election Districts 7Шаблон:Endash8) 273Шаблон:Efn-lr
Total votes cast (Election District 8 only) 39Шаблон:Efn-lr
Illegally cast (Election Districts 7Шаблон:Endash8)[5] 209Шаблон:Efn-lr 76.56
Free-State gain[3]
House District 6[1][5]
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery Joseph C. Anderson
S. A. Williams
315 90.0
Free-State John Hamilton
William Margraves
35 10.0
Total votes cast 350
Illegally cast[5] 250 71.43
Pro-slavery gain[3]
House District 7[1][5]
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery W. A. Haskall
A. Wilkinson
H. Younger
Samuel Scott
684 80.19
Free-State John Serpell
Adam Pore
S. H. Houser
William Jennings
152 17.82
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 17 1.99
Total votes cast 853Шаблон:Efn-lr
Illegally cast[5] 630Шаблон:Efn-lr
Pro-slavery gain[3]
House District 8[1][5]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Free-State S. D. Houston 120 71.86
Pro-slavery Russell Garrett 41 24.55
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 6 3.59
Total votes cast 167
Illegally cast[5] 10Шаблон:Efn-lr 5.99
Free-State gain[3]
House District 9[1][5]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Pro-slavery J. Marshall 344 91.98
Free-State H. McCartney 26 6.95
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 4 1.07
Total votes cast 374Шаблон:Efn-lr
Illegally cast[5] 321 85.83
Pro-slavery gain[3]
House District 10[1][5]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Pro-slavery William H. Tibbs 237 98.75
Free-State C. Hard 3 1.25
Total votes cast 240Шаблон:Efn-lr
Illegally cast[5] 230Шаблон:Efn-lr 95.83
Pro-slavery gain[3]
House District 11[1]Шаблон:Efn-lr
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery J. H. Stringfellow
R. L. Kirk
420 87.5
Free-State G. A. Cutler
John Landis
54 11.25
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 6 1.25
Total votes cast 480
Illegally cast[1] Шаблон:Endash Шаблон:Endash
Pro-slavery gain[3]
House District 12[1]Шаблон:Efn-lr
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery J. P. Blair
T. W. Watterson
258 99.23
Free-State Joel Ryan
John Fee
2 0.77
Total votes cast 260
Illegally cast[1] Шаблон:Endash Шаблон:Endash
Pro-slavery gain[3]
House District 13[1]Шаблон:Efn-lr
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery H. B. C. Harris
J. Weddell
412 100
Total votes cast 412
Illegally cast[1] Шаблон:Endash Шаблон:Endash
Pro-slavery gain[3]
House District 14[1]Шаблон:Efn-lr
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery H. B. McMeeken
Archy Payne
W. G. Mathias
897 93.83
Free-State Felix G. Braden
Samuel France
F. Browning
59 6.17
Total votes cast 956
Illegally cast[1]Шаблон:Efn-lr 906 94.77
Results abrogated; new election ordered[4]

May 22 election results

House District 2[3]
Faction Candidates Votes %
Free-State John Hutchison
Erastus. D. Ladd
Philip P. Fowler
288 94.12
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 18 5.88
Total votes cast 306
Free-State gain[3]
House District 3[3]
Faction Candidates Votes %
Free-State Augustus Wattles
William Jessee
127 100
Total votes cast 127
Free-State gain[3]
House District 4[3]
Faction Candidate Votes %
Free-State Cyrus K. Holliday 148 99.33
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 1 0.67
Total votes cast 149
Free-State gain[3]
House District 14[3]
Faction Candidates Votes %
Pro-slavery H. B. McMeeken
Archy Payne
W. G. Mathias
700 97.90
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 15 2.10
Total votes cast 715
Pro-slavery gain[3]

Outcome

Файл:AReeder.jpg
After the March 30, 1855 elections were marred by voting fraud, Kansas Territorial governor Andrew Horatio Reeder called for new elections in select districts.

Initial returns suggested that voters had chosen 13 pro-slavery councilmen and 25 pro-slavery representatives. Free-state settlers immediately cried foul, citing demonstrable voting irregularities, and so the governor of Kansas Territory, Andrew Horatio Reeder, scrutinized the results: On April 6, 1855, he declared Martin F. Conway the winner of the sixth district, and he also called for new elections for Council Districts 2Шаблон:Endash3 and House Districts 2Шаблон:Endash4, and 14. These elections, held on May 22, were all won by Free-Staters with the exception of the House District 14 race. After the governor granted election certificates, the Council was consequently left with 10 pro-slavery and 3 Free-state members, whereas the House was left with 18 pro-slavery and 8 Free-state members.[6] However, when the territorial legislature met for the first time on July 2, 1855, it expelled all the Free-state men who had been elected in May. The remaining Free-State representative, S. D. Houston, would resign in protest on July 23.[7]Шаблон:Efn-lr The legislature's decision to eject most of its Free-State members led to many in Kansas denouncing it as the "Bogus Legislature".[8]

On March 19, 1856, the US House of Representatives tasked a special committee, comprising William A. Howard (O-Michigan), John Sherman (O-Ohio), and Mordecai Oliver (O-Missouri),[9] with investigating "the troubles in the Territory of Kansas."[10] Their report, "Report of the Special Committee Appointed to Investigate the Troubles in Kansas", was published later in 1856. In this document, the committee's majority contended that "each election in the Territory, held under the organic or alleged Territorial law, has been carried by organized invasion from the State of Missouri by which the people of the Territory have been prevented from exercising the rights secured to them by the organic law."[11] The majority also argued that, in their opinion, "the alleged Territorial legislature was an illegally constituted body, and had no power to pass valid laws, and their enactments are therefore null and void."[11] Finally, the committee majority argued that "in the present condition of the Territory a fair election cannot be held without a new census, a stringent and well-guarded election law, the selection of impartial judges, and the presence of United States troops at every place of election."[11]

Congressional delegate election results

Файл:John Wilkins Whitfield.jpg
John Wilkins Whitfield was elected as Kansas Territory's congressional delegate in the October 1, 1855 election. The legality of that election would later be questioned by the United States House of Representatives.

October 1 (Pro-Slavery) elections

Congressional delegate (October 1, 1855)[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Pro-slavery Democrat[14] John Wilkins Whitfield 2,721 99.38
Шаблон:Endash "Scattering" votes 17 0.62
Total votes cast 2,738
Pro-Slavery Democrat selected as delegate[12][13]

October 9 (Free-State) elections

Congressional delegate (October 9, 1855)[12][13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Free-State Democrat[15] Andrew H. Reeder 2,849 100
Total votes cast 2,849
Free-State Democrat selected as delegate[12][13]

Outcome

Following the two elections, Whitfield (the incumbent who had last been elected in 1854)[16] presented his election credentials to the 34th United States Congress and was subsequently seated as the delegate from Kansas Territory. Following this, Reeder petitioned Congress to eject Whitfield and install himself as the valid delegate.[17][18] In response to this conflict, the House of Representatives issued the "Report of the Special Committee Appointed to Investigate the Troubles in Kansas", penned by a special committee tasked with analyzing the territory's elections. In this document, the majority agreed that "the election under which the sitting delegate, John Whitfield, holds his seat, was not held in pursuance of any valid law and that it should be regarded only as the expression of the voice of those resident citizens who voted for him."[11] However, the committee majority also argued that "the election, under which the contesting delegate, Andrew H. Reeder, claims his seat, was not held in pursuance of law, and that it should be regarded only as the expression of the resident citizens who voted for him."[11]

As a result, the House voted on August 1, 1856 to vacate Whitfield's seat and hold a new election.[17][18] In the subsequent election, Whitfield would again be elected, and Reeder would again contest the results.[19] In 1857, the Committee on Elections once again recommended that Whitfield be declared not entitled to the seat because non-residents had voted and because many Kansans had been disenfranchised in the 1856 election, but the House narrowly decided to table the resolution. Whitfield served provisionally from December 9, 1856, to March 3, 1857.[20]

Notes

Шаблон:Notelist-lr

References

Шаблон:Reflist

Bibliography

  1. 1,00 1,01 1,02 1,03 1,04 1,05 1,06 1,07 1,08 1,09 1,10 1,11 1,12 1,13 1,14 1,15 1,16 1,17 1,18 1,19 1,20 Andreas (1883), p. 96.
  2. 2,00 2,01 2,02 2,03 2,04 2,05 2,06 2,07 2,08 2,09 2,10 2,11 2,12 2,13 2,14 2,15 2,16 2,17 2,18 Howard et al. (1856), p. 31.
  3. 3,00 3,01 3,02 3,03 3,04 3,05 3,06 3,07 3,08 3,09 3,10 3,11 3,12 3,13 3,14 3,15 3,16 3,17 3,18 3,19 3,20 3,21 3,22 3,23 3,24 3,25 3,26 3,27 3,28 3,29 Andreas (1883), p. 101.
  4. 4,0 4,1 4,2 4,3 4,4 4,5 Andreas (1883), pp. 97Шаблон:Endash98.
  5. 5,00 5,01 5,02 5,03 5,04 5,05 5,06 5,07 5,08 5,09 5,10 5,11 5,12 5,13 5,14 5,15 5,16 5,17 5,18 5,19 Ошибка цитирования Неверный тег <ref>; для сносок howard32 не указан текст
  6. Andreas (1883), pp. 97Шаблон:Endash101.
  7. Ошибка цитирования Неверный тег <ref>; для сносок andreas102-103 не указан текст
  8. Шаблон:Cite web
  9. Kansas State Historical Society (1881), pp. 146Шаблон:Endash147.
  10. Howard et al. (1856), p. 1.
  11. 11,0 11,1 11,2 11,3 11,4 Howard et al. (1856), p. 67.
  12. 12,0 12,1 12,2 12,3 Andreas (1883), p. 111.
  13. 13,0 13,1 13,2 13,3 Admire (1891), p. 193.
  14. Шаблон:Cite web
  15. Socolofsky (2021), p. 34.
  16. Шаблон:Cite web
  17. 17,0 17,1 United States Congress (1950), p. 255.
  18. 18,0 18,1 Bartlett (1865), pp. 185Шаблон:Endash203.
  19. Шаблон:Cite web
  20. Hinds (1907), pp. 1076Шаблон:Endash1078.