the third try at a constitution was called the leavenworth constitution. it was called that because on march 25, 1858, the delegates met in leavenworth, kansas. when a bill asking for another convention had been sent to the new territorial governor, james denver for approval, he ignored it. the territorial legislature then passed the bill, but they met after they were scheduled to leave. this caused an angry debate even before the convention met. at the convention, abolitionists disagreed over several issues including what to offer to blacks. even so, the delegates voted on a new constitution to present to the voters. it was ratified on may 18, but very few kansans came out to vote on the issue. congress did not even take the leavenworth constitution seriously. instead, president buchanan said that the lecompton constitution had been ratified and it should be the constitution under consideration. while the leavenworth constitution was waiting on ratification, both houses of congress sent the lecompton constitution back to the voters of kansas. this time there was a bribe attached. if the voters would approve the lecompton constitution, they would get 3.5 million acres of public land to use for schools, a university and public works. if they rejected the constitution, kansas would not be allowed to submit another constitution until it gained a larger population. on august 2, the voters rejected the terms of statehood made by congress by a vote of 11,812 to 1,926. both the lecompton and the leavenworth constitutions were dead. both the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions realized it was time for a new plan for kansas.