Spyglass used by James Lane and other free-state leaders of Lawrence, Kansas Territory, in observing the movements of pro-slavers. Free state leaders wanted Kansas to enter the United States as a state prohibiting slavery and were based in Lawrence, Kansas. Many people who wanted Kansas to enter the United States as a state allowing slavery were based in Missouri. James Lane was a controversial figure who served as president of the Topeka and Leavenworth constitutional conventions and was one of the state's two first U.S. senators (one senator represented the free staters and one represented the pro-slavers).