why did the territory of kansas have two governments
Bleeding Kansas In August, anti-slavery residents met to formally reject the pro-slavery laws. They quickly elected their own Free-State delegates to a separate legislature based in Topeka, which stood in opposition to the pro-slavery government operating in Lecompton, and drafted the first territorial constitution, the Topeka Constitution. In a message to Congress on January 24, 1856, President Pierce declared the Free-State Topeka government insurrectionist in its stand against pro-slavery territorial officials.[7] The presence of dual governments was symbolic of the strife brewing in the territory and further provoked supporters of both sides of the conflict.[8][9]