Constitutions » KS Constitution » Introduction
The Kansas Constitution is a document that few Kansans are familiar with, although it influences our daily lives. A separate state constitution was and still is necessary in addition to our nation's constitution so that our government may operate as a republic, as opposed to a democracy. A state constitution gives the government enough power to declare the actions of a majority illegal if those actions violate the rights of the minority.
The bitter struggle and often violent turmoil that plagued the Kansas Territory's landscape on the issues that would determine the people's future comprised the marrow of this legendary document's laws. The unruly territory was about to become an official state. But on which side of the critical issues would it fall?
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress