This is the text of the Leavenworth Constitution as published in Daniel W. Wilder's "The Annals of Kansas" (1886). The Leavenworth Constitution was the most radical of the four constitutions drafted for Kansas Territory. The Bill of Rights refers to "all men" and prohibited slavery from the state. The word "white" did not appear in the proposed document and, therefore, it would not have excluded free blacks from the state. Article XVI, Section 3 (p. 227) directed the general assembly to provide some protection for the rights of women. The Leavenworth Constitution was ratified on May 18, 1858, but the U.S. Senate did not act to approve the document.