Horace Greeley, The American Conflict: A History of the Great Rebellion in the United States of America, 1860-65: its Causes, Incidents, and Results: Intended to exhibit especially its moral and political phases with the drift and progress of American opinion respecting human slavery from 1776 to the close of the War for the Union. Volume I.

[239] that dared and chose to speak a word for the Free-State settlers of Kansas, maintaining their rights under the organic law. Though guarded and careful in its language, it could not escape the discipline meted out in that region to all who favored “Abolition.” On the 14th of April, 1855, its office and materials were destroyed by a mob, and its editor constrained to flee for his life.

William Phillips, a Free-State lawyer of Leavenworth, saw fit to sign the protest against the wholesale frauds whereby the election at that place was carried. A few days thereafter, he was seized by a crowd of Missouri ruffians, taken by force to Weston, Mo., eight miles distant, and there tarred and feathered, ridden on a rail, and finally sold at auction to a negro, who was compelled to purchase him.

Gov. Reeder did set aside the election in the only six districts from which protests were seasonably forwarded to him, with distinct proof of frauds; whereupon, new elections were held in those districts, and all of them but Leavenworth were carried Free-Soil. Leavenworth, being directly on the Missouri border, was carried pro-Slavery by fraud and violence, as usual. The Free-State men elected at this second election were refused seats by the pro-Slavery majority, and the pro-Slavery men chosen on the regular day of election duly installed in their places.

The Legislature was called to meet at Pawnee City on the Kansas river, nearly a hundred miles west from the border. It was immediately adjourned, over the Governor's veto, to Shawnee Mission, directly on the line of Missouri. It proceeded to pass one act whereby the laws of Missouri generally were adopted and declared laws of Kansas, and other acts specially upholding and fortifying Slavery, whereof the following are but specimens:

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Governor and Legislative Assembly of Kansas, That every person, bond or free, who shall be convicted of raising a rebellion or insurrection of slaves, free negroes, or mulattoes, in this Territory, shall suffer death.

Sec. 2. Every free person, who shall aid or assist in any rebellion or insurrection of slaves, free negroes, or mulattoes, or shall furnish arms, or do any other act in furtherance of such rebellion or insurrection, shall suffer death.

Sec. 3. If any free person shall, by speaking, writing, or printing, advise, persuade, or induce, any slaves to rebel, conspire against, or murder, any citizen of the Territory, or shall bring into, print, write, publish, or circulate, or cause to be brought into, written, printed, published, or circulated, or shall, knowingly, aid or assist in the bringing into, printing, writing, publishing, or circulating, in the Territory, any book, paper, magazine, pamphlet, or circular, for the purpose of inciting insurrection, rebellion, revolt, or conspiracy, on the part of the slaves, free negroes, or mulattoes, against the citizens of the Territory, or any part of them, such person shall suffer death.

Sec. 4. If any person shall entice, decoy, or carry away, out of this Territory, any slave belonging to another, with the intent to deprive the owner thereof of the services of such slave, he shall be adjudged guilty of grand larceny, and, on conviction thereof, shall suffer death, or be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than ten years.

Sec. 5. If any person shall aid or assist in enticing, decoying, or persuading, or carrying away, or sending out of this Territory, any slave belonging to another, with the intent to procure or effect the freedom of such slave, or deprive the owners thereof of the services of such slave, he shall be adjudged guilty of grand larceny, and, on conviction thereof, shall suffer death, or be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than ten years.

Sec. 12. If any free person, by speaking or writing, shall assert or maintain that persons have not the right to hold slaves in this Territory, or shall introduce into this Territory, print, publish, write, circulate, or cause to be introduced into the Territory, or written, printed, published, and circulated in this Territory, any book, paper, magazine, pamphlet, or circular, containing