Andrew H. Reeder

Shortly after Kansas opened for settlement in 1854, President Franklin Pierce appointed Andrew Horatio Reeder as governor of Kansas Territory. Reeder took the oath of office in Washington on July 7, 1854, and arrived here on October 7.

Governor Reeder was a Democrat who was in full sympathy with the South in supporting the institution of slavery. An advocate for the Kansas-Nebraska bill, which gave residents the choice whether or not to allow slavery, Reeder's attitude changed after the March election when thousands of Missourians overran the polls in Kansas. The governor was appalled at the extent of the fraud and when the Free Soil partisans protested the election results, Reeder agreed to discard the results from the districts where protests had been filed. He called for a new election in the disputed districts in May that was boycotted by the proslavery partisans. The governor felt the legislature should convene at a point remote from the influences of the slave state of Missouri. He exercised his power by calling the legislature to the new town of Pawnee. Hence, the stage was set for conflict when the legislature convened on July 2, 1855.

Reeder was one of the most active land speculators in the territory. Pawnee City was one of his investments, which proved to be a conflict of interest so well known that traveler William Anderson Thornton mentioned it in his diary the morning that the Kansas Territorial Legislature opened July 2, 1855. "The prairie on [the] valley of the Kansas River [is] about three miles wide. Beautiful locations. The ridges rise about 50 feet. It is here that Governor Reeder is said to own 1200 acres purchased at 90 cents the acre."

The session, which would be called the Bogus Legislature, opened July 2, 1855. In this brief session, nearly all the members who were opponents of slavery were ousted. It was later recalled that one ousted member, John A. Wakefield, rose to leave the capitol and gave vent to his indignation with this prophetic speech, "Gentlemen, this is a memorable day, and may become more so. Your acts will be the means of lighting the watch-fires of war in our land." Thus the Civil War had its beginnings and there was no compromise on slavery in the territory or the nation.

A bill passed on July 4, 1855 transferring the seat of government back to Shawnee Mission near the Missouri border. Although Governor Reeder promptly vetoed this bill, it passed over his veto and the legislature adjourned to reconvene on July 16 in Shawnee Mission.

Andrew Reeder was forced out of office as territorial governor soon after the legislature met in Pawnee. Reeder fell out of favor with some members of the U.S. Congress and the president due to his lack of support for slavery. He continued working with the Free State Party of the territory. When supporters of slavery began arresting members of the Free State Party, Reeder felt he had no choice but to leave the territory.