On April 1, in a dramatic roll call, 22 (of 53) northern Democrats joined the Republicans and a handful of Americans to defeat Lecompton by a vote of 120 to 112. “The agony is over,” wrote a Douglas Democrat, “and thank God, the right has triumphed!"51 To save face, the administration supported a compromise by which Kansans would vote again on acceptance or rejection of Lecompton under the guise of a referendum
