* See Jesse Macy, "The Anti-Slavery Crusade". (In "The
Chronicles of America".)
The next step in the affair is one of the unsolved problems in
American history. Buchanan suddenly changed front, disgraced
Walker, and threw himself into the arms of the Southern
extremists. Though his reasons for doing so have been debated to
this day, they have not yet been established beyond dispute.
What seems to be the favorite explanation is that Buchanan was in
a panic. What brought him to that condition may have been the
following events.
The free-state men, by refusing to take part in electing the
convention, had given control to the slaveholders, who proved
they were not slow to seize their opportunity. They drew up a
constitution favoring slavery, but this constitution, Walker had
promised, was to be submitted in referendum. If the convention
decided, however, not to submit the constitution, would not
Congress have the right to accept it and admit Kansas as a Mate?
This question was immediately raised. It now became plain that,
by refusing to take part in the election, the free-state Kansans
had thrown away a great tactical advantage. Of this blunder in
generalship the Yancey men took instant advantage. It was known
that the proportion of Free-Soilers in Kansas was very great--
perhaps a majority--and the Southerners reasoned that they should
not be obliged to give up the advantage they had won merely to
let their enemies retrieve their mistake.
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