SELFISH INTENTIONS - K-REx - Kansas State University

In Kansas, a fourth constitutional convention was called in Wyandotte City during the
summer of 1859. Prior to this convention, Clarina Nichols traveled around the state speaking
and asking people to sign a petition promoting women’s rights. Then she attended the
convention where she lobbied the delegates and wrote resolutions on women’s rights. She
lectured twice in Constitutional Hall, once just to the Republicans and once to all the delegates.
Later in the convention, Nichols’ resolution for full women’s suffrage was voted down; however,
she succeeded in getting several other rights for women written into the constitution. Eickhoff
elaborates, “From the first, Kansas mothers had equal custody considerations with fathers in
cases of divorce. Married women had the right to inherit, control, and bequeath property in their
own names. …Perhaps the most significantly in terms of political advances, Kansas women
could vote in school district elections.” 63 Due to Clarina Nichols’s efforts, from the formation of
the state, Kansas women had more rights than was typical of women in eastern states. She
fought tirelessly for women to have the right to own property and to petition for divorce.
Divorce law in Kansas transitioned from the territorial statutes to the state statutes
following Kansas’s bid for statehood. During the period of Kansas history from1861 to 1923,
the legislature revised the divorce statutes on three occasions. The first changes occurred in
1868, then next in 1909, and the last changes occurred in 1923. The 1909 changes to this statute
led to controversy over the residency requirement before a divorce petition would be granted.
Before examining the specific state statutes relating to divorce, first it is necessary to establish
how the district court system evolved to be the judicial body that decides divorce cases in
Kansas.
63 Ibid., 152. The new Kansas constitution also advocated for “equality in all school matters” for women. This
meant that the University of Kansas was coeducational from its founding and one of the first public universities to
admit women.
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