Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Douglas, Stephen Arnold, 1813-1861 Campaign Democrat Extra. No. 2: On Kansas Affairs

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03167 Author/Creator: Douglas, Stephen Arnold, 1813-1861 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Broadsheet Date: 18 December 1857 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 48 cm, Width: 31.9 cm Order a Copy

Complete text of Douglas's report from the Committee on Territories to the United States Senate on December 18, 1857. With a new bill proposing specific guidelines for authorizing the Kansas territory to form a constitution to prepare for admittance to the Union. This report was evidence of Douglas's disapproval of the notorious pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution proposed for Kansas, which was endorsed by President James Buchanan. Douglas, hoping to save his Senate seat in the 1858 election, opposed the administration not because it sanctioned slavery in Kansas, but because it violated his standard of popular sovereignty. In doing so, he seriously damaged his reputation in the South. Printed in four columns front and back.

Douglas, Stephen Arnold, 1813-1861

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources