photo by: John Young/Journal-World

Lawrence resident Harold Riehm portrays Charles Robinson, who was the first governor of Kansas, during the dedication of a history exhibit in the refurbished Carnegie Library building in downtown Lawrence on Saturday, July 2, 2011.

Editor’s note: Harold Riehm is a former faculty member of the University of Kansas’ political science department, who has for many years portrayed Charles Robinson, the first governor of Kansas. Riehm has researched Robinson’s important July 4 speech that was delivered in Lawrence on 1855.

It was the Fourth of July, 1855, and excitement was running high in Lawrence. There was to be more than just a patriotic celebration of our country’s birth, but also an eagerly awaited address by an early settler, Charles Robinson. Would he call for a mild rebuke or urge an aggressive act of treason? This was the setting.

On March 30, the U.S. Congress mandated an election be held to elect representatives to the first Kansas Territorial Legislature, which in turn would prepare an application for Kansas statehood either as a free state or a slave state. It was assumed free staters would dominate the election since many of the Territory’s settlers were of abolitionist persuasion. However, in the absence of a list of qualified electors, hundreds of slave state Missourians crossed the border, and often by force or intimidation, cast pro slavery votes sufficient to elect a pro-slavery Legislature. In the Lawrence election district alone, with a reported 369 qualified voters, 1,034 votes were cast.

Immediately labeled a “bogus election,” the question became whether to risk a charge of treason by openly encouraging rebellion, or to acquiesce. The answer, many thought, would be answered in Lawrence as part of the Robinson oration.

Robinson was the obvious choice to speak. As a leader of the Emigrant Aid Society, he was a founder of the City of Lawrence. The New England-educated physician is perhaps best known for post-election events, including his selection as the extra-legal Territorial Governor, and, years later, his election and subsequent impeachment as governor of the State of Kansas. Of local importance, he left as his family legacy much of the land on which the University of Kansas campus is now located.

His speech was to conclude a day long celebration in Lawrence. Sara Robinson, wife of Charles, in her book Kansas: Its Interior and Exterior Life (1856), described the City’s celebration: “The morning of the Fourth came in cloudy yet pleasant . . . From the elevated position of our house we could see the people gathering from all quarters. Several teams of oxen, as well as horses, the roughness of the vehicles being hidden under garlands of green leaves and flowers came in from the Wakarusa. A beautiful flag was presented” and afterwards a “procession formed upon Massachusetts Street and was escorted by the military to a fine grove about a mile from town. Here, in one of nature’s grand old forests, seats had been provided, and a platform raised for the orators and other speakers, for the singers and instruments. The number present was variously estimated from fifteen hundred to two thousand.”

From opening comments in his speech to a rousing conclusion, Robinson left little doubt of his willingness to risk charges of treason by proposing open rebellion in opposition to the bogus legislature. He concluded his speech with these words:

“Fellow citizens . . . it is for us to choose ourselves, and for those who shall come after us, what institutions shall bless or curse our beautiful Kansas. Shall we have freedom for all the people, and consequent prosperity, or slavery for a part? With the blight and mildew inseparable from it? Choose this day which you will serve — slavery or freedom — and then be true to your choice . . . The entire nation is agitated upon the question of our rights. The Spirit of ’76 is breathing upon some; the hand-writing upon the wall is being discerned by others; while the remainder, the gods are evidently preparing for destruction. Every pulsation in Kansas vibrates to the remotest artery of the body politic, and I seem to hear the millions of freemen in our own land, the spirits of the revolutionary heroes and the voice of God, all saying to the people of Kansas, “Do your duty!”

The speech left little doubt of his willingness to risk charges of treason by proposing rebellion in opposition to the bogus legislature. It also ushered in the tumultuous era of “Bleeding Kansas.” Subsequently, Robinson was indicted and jailed for treason, spending several months in a Lecompton jail, although he was never convicted of the charges.

Word of his bold oration spread quickly throughout the country. In time his sentiments prevailed and slave state influence waned. Subsequently, following several proposals for an acceptable state constitution, Congress in 1861 admitted Kansas as a Free State. A key to these developments was, arguably, the most important speech ever delivered in Lawrence.