Charles Chouteau of the American Fur Company took the small stern wheel steamer Chippewa, under Captain La Barge, up the Missouri River as far as the old Fort McKenzie, twelve miles below Fort Benton. This broke all records for navigation on the northern reaches of the river. (By John Osborne)

The Vicksburg Convention opened in Mississippi with a focus on the future of the slave trade.  At its close, after much debate, a motion to lift all restrictions on the slave trade was passed by a vote of 41-19. Almost all of the Deep South voted for the measure while the Tennessee delegates voted against, along with the Floridians, and some South Carolinians. The rest of the Upper South had by that time withdrawn from the meeting or had not been represented in the first place. (By John Osborne)

The Vicksburg Convention opened in Mississippi with a focus on the future of the slave trade. Deep South states dominated the representation and as early as the second day resolutions calling for the lifting of all restrictions on the African slave trade were proposed. The meeting lasted until May 19, 1859. (By John Osborne)

The Vicksburg Convention opened in Mississippi with a focus on the future of the slave trade. Deep South states dominated the representation and as early as the second day resolutions calling for the lifting of all restrictions on the African slave trade were proposed. The meeting lasted until May 19, 1859. (By John Osborne)

Former territorial governor Charles Robinson was elected as a Republican over the Democratic incumbent, Samuel Medary by a vote count of 7,908 to 5,395. This was the first election for government offices under the new Wyandotte Constitution that prepared Kansas for statehood in early 1861. (By John Osborne)