Kansas Legislature history

Free-Staters convened their own unauthorized shadow legislature and territorial government in Topeka, crafting their own Topeka Constitution in late 1855.

While the Lecompton Constitution was debated, new elections for the territorial legislature in 1857 gave the Free-Staters a majority government, caused in part by a boycott by pro-slavery groups.

The constitution was adopted in 1858, though it too suffered the same fate as previous documents when Congress refused to ratify it.

When they withdrew after seven states seceded, in January of 1861, Kansas's admission as a free state, effective January 29, was approved within hours.

The first Kansas impeachments occurred in 1862, brought about in part by Republican Party infighting in the state.

In 1867, a constitutional amendment was sent to voters to allow women to vote, but failed.

State offices began to move from the Old Constitutional Hall to the east wing of the Kansas State Capitol in 1869, which was still undergoing construction.

On February 19, 1881, Kansas became the first state to amend its constitution to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.

After 1890, prohibition was joined with progressivism to create a reform movement.

The dispute at led to separate Populist-led and Republican-led Houses in 1893 that at first shared the chamber, but later met in separate locations in the Kansas State Capitol after the Republican-led House took control of the chamber on February 15, 1893.

The state legislature was a leader in child labor reform, enacting a law in 1905 to restrict children under 14 from working in factories, meatpacking houses, or mines.

With the help of progressive state legislators, women gained the right to vote through a constitutional amendment approved by Kansans on November 5, 1912.