The Battle for the Democratic Party in Kansas

The battle over Kansas became a battle for the control of the Democratic Party. The pro-slavery government agreed to a limited vote in which Kansas wouldn't vote on the whole constitution but just on the question of whether slavery would be allowed or not. Abraham Lincoln famously or infamously met the young strapping Joshua Speed in Springfield, Illinois in 1837 when Buchanan was a successful attorney and a member of Illinois's House of Representatives. They lived together for four years during which time they occupied the same bid, specifically a, quote, large double bid and developed a friendship that would last until their deaths.