Dan and Seth discuss the Lecompton Constitution, the pro-slavery state constitution of Kansas submitted in the wake of “Bleeding Kansas.” National debate over whether to accept the constitution split the Democratic party, prompting Senator Stephen Douglas to make a volte face (that’s French for “about face”) and come out against the pro-slavery faction of his party. New York newspaperman Horace Greeley suggests that Douglas be nominated for re-election to the Illinois senate as—gasp—a Republican. Abraham Lincoln and his supporters head them off at the pass, though, securing Lincoln’s nomination as the Republican candidate. Lincoln addresses the Republican convention with his famous “House Divided” speech.
