=The Marais des Cygnes Massacre.= These conditions continued until in the spring of 1858. While the Lecompton and Leavenworth constitutions were being considered in the Territory, there occurred in Linn County the Marais des Cygnes massacre, the most shocking and bloody event of the whole Territorial period. A Southerner named Hamelton made up a list of free-state men whom he planned to seize and execute. On May 19, almost two years to the day after the Pottawatomie massacre by John Brown, Hamelton with a gang of Missourians captured eleven of the free-state men, marched them to a near-by gulch, lined them up and fired a volley. Five men were killed, five were wounded, and one remained unharmed. This terrible deed created great excitement, and an unsuccessful attempt was made to capture Hamelton and his men.[15]
=Order Restored.= Steps were taken to bring about a more settled condition in southeastern Kansas. Though several other outrages took place, none of them was so barbarous as the Marais des Cygnes massacre, and order was gradually restored.
=Proslavery and Free-state Names Dropped.= During the trouble over the Lecompton Constitution in the closing days of 1857 Governor Walker was compelled to resign, and in the autumn of 1858 Governor Denver, who succeeded him, voluntarily resigned. Although Denver was the fifth Territorial Governor, he was the first one who had not been compelled to give up his office. This was one of the indications that better days were beginning in Kansas. Lawlessness was practically over. The South was no longer hopeful of making Kansas a slave state. The settlers dropped the terms proslavery and free-state, and identified themselves with the National political parties.
=The Wyandotte Constitution, 1859.= In the summer of the next year, 1859, a fourth constitutional convention was held at Wyandotte. There was less hard feeling now between the two factions, and the members of this convention were from both political parties, Democrat and Republican. It was generally conceded by this time that Kansas was to be a free state, and the new Constitution contained the words, “There shall be no slavery in this State; and no involuntary servitude, except for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” This was called the Wyandotte Constitution, and when it was submitted to the people in the fall a large majority of the votes were cast in favor of it.