William T. Sherman to Senator John Sherman, April 25, 1861

OFFICE ST. LOUIS RAILROAD COMPANY, St. Louis, April 25, 1861.

DEAR BROTHER: Virginia's secession influences some six millions of people. No use in arguing about it at all, but all the Virginians, or all who trace their lineage back, will feel like obeying her dictates and example. As a state, she has been proud, boastful, and we may say over-bearing; but, on the other hand, she, by her governors and authority, has done everything to draw her native-born back to their state.

I can not yet but think that it was a fatal mistake in Mr. Lincoln not to tie to his administration by some kind of link, the border states. Now it is too late, and sooner or later Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas will be in arms against us. It is barely possible that Missouri may yet be neutral.

It is pretty nearly determined to divert the half million set aside for the July interest for arming the state.¹ All the bankers but one have consented, and the governor and legislature are strongly secession. I understand to-day the orders at the custom house are to refuse clearance to steamboats to seceding states. All the heavy trade with groceries and provisions is with the South, and this order at once takes all life from St. Louis. Merchants heretofore for peace, and even for backing the administration will now fall off, relax in their exertions, and the result will possibly be secession, and then free states against slave – the horrible array so long dreaded. I know Frank Blair desired this plain, square issue. It may be that sooner or later it is inevitable, but I cannot bring myself to think so. On the necessity of maintaining a government and that government the old constitutional one, I have never wavered, but I do recoil from a war, when the negro is the only question. I am informed that McClellan is appointed to command the Ohio militia — a most excellent appointment; a better officer could not be found.

_______________

¹ Missouri. — ED.

SOURCE: Walter L. Fleming, General W.T. Sherman as College President, p. 380-1

William T. Sherman to David F. Boyd, May 13, 1861

St. Louis, May 13, 1861.

MY DEAR FRIEND: I have been intending for a long while to answer your last very kind letter. I suppose you still receive papers from New Orleans and Virginia giving tolerably fair versions of the events which are now passing all around us. We are now by Declaration of the Confederate Congress and by act of our own constituted authorities enemies, and I can not yet realize the fact. I know that I individually would not do any human being a wrong, take from him a cent, or molest any of his rights or property, and yet I admit fully the fact that Lincoln was bound to call on the country to rally and save our constitution and government. Had I responded to his call for volunteers I know that I would now be a Major-general. But my feelings prompted me to forbear and the consequence is my family and friends are almost cold to me, and they feel and say that I have failed at the critical moment of my life. It may be I am but a chip on the whirling tide of time destined to be cast on the shore as a worthless weed.

But I still think in the hurly burly of strife, order and system must be generated, and grow and strengthen till our people come out again a great and purified nation.

Lincoln is of right our president and has the right to initiate the policy of our government during his four years, and I believe him sincere in his repeated declarations that no dismemberment shall be even thought of. The inevitable result is war, and an invasive war.

I know that masses of men are organizing and discipling to execute the orders of this government. They are even now occupying the key points of our country; and when prepared they will strike. Not in detached columns battling with an excited people, but falling on exposed points. Already is Missouri humbled; I have witnessed it; my personal friends here, many of them southern, admit that Missouri's fate is sealed. There was a camp of about one thousand five hundred young men, who though seemingly assembled by state authority were yet notoriously disaffected to the government and were imprudent enough to receive into their camp a quantity of the arms from Baton Rouge, brought up as common merchandise. This justified the government forces here, regulars and militia, to surround and capture the whole. For a time intense excitement prevailed, but again seeming peace has come. The governor and state authorities are southern by birth and feeling and may make some spasmodic efforts to move, but they will be instantly overcome. Superior arms and numbers are the elements of war, and must prevail.

I cannot yet say if Lincoln will await the action of his Congress in July. I think he will as to any grand movement, but in the meantime Virginia, Louisiana, and Missouri, will be held or threatened, I have no doubt a hundred thousand disciplined men will be in Louisiana by Christmas next. The Mississippi River will be a grand theater of war, but not till the present masses are well disciplined. It is horrible to contemplate but it cannot be avoided.

No one now talks of the negro. The integrity of the Union and the relative power of state and general government are the issues in this war. Were it not for the physical geography of the country it might be that people could consent to divide and separate in peace.

But the Mississippi is too grand an element to be divided, and all its extent must of necessity be under one government. Excuse these generalisms — we have said them a thousand times.

I was sorry to hear from Dr. Smith that further disaffection had crept into your institution. I fear for the present it will be swept by the common storm. ——— was not the man, and it is well he has declined. Certainly there must be within reach, some good man to manage so easy a machine. I think the machine should be kept together, even on the smallest scale. Joe Miller writes me that the arms¹ have been sent off and therefore his occupation gone. I will write if he cannot stay to return to his brother in Ohio and not go to California as he seems to think about.

I am still here with this road and my family living at 226 Locust St. No matter what happens I will always consider you my personal friend, and you shall ever be welcome to my roof. Should I be wrong in my conclusions of this terrible anarchy and should you come to St. Louis, I know you will be pleased with the many objects of interest hereabouts. Give to all the assurance of my

kindest remembrance and accept for yourself my best wishes for your health and success in life.

_______________

¹ Stored in the Seminary Arsenal. - ED.

SOURCE: Walter L. Fleming, General W.T. Sherman as College President, p. 381-3

William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, January 27, 1861

SEMINARY, January 27, 1861.

. . . Since my last I have three letters from you. . . The mails have been much disordered by a break on the Mississippi Railroad. In my last I sent you a copy of a letter written to Governor Moore, to which I have received no answer.¹ He is very busy indeed, legislature and convention both in session at Baton Rouge, giving him hardly time to think of the Seminary. . .

The ordinance of Secession will pass in a day or so², but the legislature was adjourned till February 4, so that no business can be transacted there for some days. It don't take long to pull down, and everybody is striving for the honor of pouring out the deepest insult to Uncle Sam. The very men who last 4th of July were most patriotic and exhausted their imaginations for pictures of the glories of our Union, are now full of joy and happiness that this accursed Union is wrecked and destroyed.

This rapid popular change almost makes me monarchist, and raises the question whether the self interest of one man is not a safer criterion than the wild opinions of ignorant men. From all I can read Missouri and Kentucky will go with the crowd South and will be more seriously affected than any other part of the country.

As soon as I hear from Governor Moore I will let you know when to expect me. I know that he, the governor, will feel inclined to get rid of me instanter, but Dr. Smith wants me to stay for a successor, and he has no successor in his mind. If he proposes I shall stay till March, I will feel disposed to agree to it for pecuniary reasons, but I think the governor will feel hurt at my letter, and will be disposed to get rid of me. At all events, my position being clearly defined I cannot be complicated by these secession movements. I do feel a little mean at being made partially accessory to the robbing of the Baton Rouge Arsenal by receiving a part of the stolen property. . .

_______________

¹ See pages 341-343, 350-351. – ED.

² It was passed on January 26, 1861. – Ed.

SOURCE: Walter L. Fleming, General W.T. Sherman as College President, p. 351-3

William T. Sherman to Ellen Ewing Sherman, February 1, 1861

SEMINARY, Feb. 1, 1861.

 . . . I suppose you are impatient to hear what next. Last night I got full letters from Baton Rouge. Governor Moore's is in these words [see pages 350-351].

Dr. Smith, also at Baton Rouge, writes me at length. He says [see page 353].

So you see I have at least the good will of all my associates. I have called the Board for February 9, and expect to leave here by or before February 20. I shall delay a while in New Orleans, not long, and get to Lancaster by March. . . If you really desire me to settle in Ohio you must make some exertions for I cannot abide there long in inactivity, and loafing. . .

I have a good letter from Turner in which he infers I cannot stay here and advises me to come to St. Louis, but points out nothing definite. He thinks Missouri will not secede, but if she do not they will have a severe contest there, for men who own negroes are blind to all interests other than those of slavery. Reason has nothing to do in these times of change and revolution. Politicians start the movement and keep it alive by a process known to themselves, and the poor innocent people have nothing to do but follow their lead. It may not be so there, but I am not convinced.

I see John takes bold ground. He is right. If the government be a reality it should defend its flag, property and servants. Anderson should be reinforced if it cost ten thousand lives and every habitation in Charleston. Also the seizure of these arsenals should be resented and the actors made to feel that the United States is a reality. But the time is not yet. . .

SOURCE: Walter L. Fleming, General W.T. Sherman as College President, p. 359-60

Resolution for the Admission of Missouri, March 2, 1821

[SIXTEENTII CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION]

Resolution providing for the admission of the state of Missouri into the Union, on a certain condition

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That Missouri shall be admitted into this union on an equal footing with the original states, in all respects whatever, upon the fundamental condition, that the fourth clause of the twenty-sixth section of the third article of the constitution submitted on the part of said state to Congress, shall never be construed to authorize the passage of any law, and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which any citizen, of either of the states in this Union, shall be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such citizen is entitled under the constitution of the United States: Provided, That the legislature of the said state, by a solemn public act, shall declare the assent of the said state to the said fundamental condition, and shall transmit to the President of the United States, on or before the fourth Monday in November next, an authentic copy of the said act; upon the receipt whereof, the President, by proclamation, shall announce the fact; whereupon, and without any further proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of the said state into this Union shall be considered as complete.

Approved, March 2, 1821.

SOURCE: Francis Newton Thorpe, The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the States, Territories and Colonies, Now or Hereto Forming The United States of America, Vol. 4, p. 2148-9

Constitution Of Missouri,* July 19, 1820

We, the people of Missouri, inhabiting the limits hereinafter designated, by our representatives in convention assembled at Saint Louis, on Monday, the 12th day of June, 1820, do mutually agree to form and establish a free and independent republic, by the name of the “State of Missouri,” and for the government thereof do ordain and establish this constitution:

ARTICLE I.

OF BOUNDARIES. We do declare, establish, ratify, and confirm the following as the permanent boundaries of said State, that is to say: Beginning in the middle of the Mississippi River, on the parallel of thirty-six degrees of north latitude; thence west along the said parallel of latitude to Saint François River; thence up and following the course of that river, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the parallel of latitude of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes; thence west along the same to a point where the said parallel is intersected by a meridian-line passing through the middle of the mouth of the Kansas River, where the same empties into the Missouri River; thence from the point aforesaid north, along the said meridian-line, to the intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the river Des Moines, making the said line correspond with the Indian boundary-line; thence east from the point of intersection last aforesaid, along the said parallel of latitude, to the middle of the channel of the main fork of the said river Des Moines; thence down and along the middle of the main channel of the said river Des Moines to the mouth of the same, where it empties into the Mississippi River; thence due east to the middle of the main channel of the Mississippi River; thence down and following the course of the Mississippi River, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the place of beginning.

ARTICLE II.

OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.

The powers of government shall be divided into three distinct departments, each of which shall be confided to a separate magistracy; and no person charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of those departments shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of the others, except in the instances hereinafter expressly directed or permitted.

ARTICLE III.

OF THE LEGISLATIVE POWER.

SECTION 1. The legislative power shall be vested in a general assembly, which shall consist of a senate and of a house of representatives.

Sec. 2. The house of representatives shall consist of members to be chosen every second year, by the qualified electors of the several counties. Each county shall have at least one representative; but the whole number of representatives shall never exceed one hundred.

SEC. 3. No person shall be a member of the house of representatives who shall not have attained the age of twenty-four years; who shall not be a free white male citizen of the United States; who shall not have been an inhabitant of this State two years, and of the county which he represents one year next before his election, if such county shall have been so long established; but if not, then of the county or counties from which the same shall have been taken; and who shall not, moreover, have paid a State or county tax.

SEC. 4. The general assembly at their first session, and in the years one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two and one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, respectively, and every fourth year thereafter, shall cause an enumeration of the inhabitants of this state to be made; and at the first session after such enumeration shall apportion the number of representatives among the several counties, according to the number of free white male inhabitants therein.

SEC. 5: The senators shall be chosen by the qualified electors for the term of four years. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years; who shall not be a free white male citizen of the United States; who shall not have been an inhabitant of this State four years, and of the district which he may be chosen to represent one year before his election, if such district shall have been so long established; but if not, then of the district or districts from which the same shall have been taken; and who shall not, moreover, have paid a State or county tax.

SEC. 6. The senate shall consist of not less than fourteen nor more than thirty-three members; for the election of whom the State shall be divided into convenient districts, which may be altered from time to time, and new districts established, as public convenience may require, and the senators shall be apportioned among the several districts according to the number of free white male inhabitants in each: Provided, That when a senatorial district shall be composed of two or more counties, the counties of which such district consists shall not be entirely separated by any county belonging to another district; and no county shall be divided in forming a district.

SEC. 7. At the first session of the general assembly, the senators shall be divided by lot, as equally as may be, into two classes. The seats of the first class shall be vacated at the end of the second year, and the seats of the second class at the end of the fourth year; so that one-half of the senators shall be chosen every second year.

Sec. 8. After the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, all general elections shall commence on the first Monday in August, and shall be held biennially; and the electors, in all cases, except of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, shall be privileged from arrest during their continuance at elections, and in going to and returning from the same.

SEC. 9. The governor shall issue writs of election to fill up such vacancies as may occur in either house of the general assembly.

Sec. 10. Every free white male citizen of the United States, who shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, and who shall have resided in this State one year before an election, the last three months whereof shall have been in the county or district in which he offers to vote, shall be deemed a qualified elector of all elective offices: Provided, That no soldier, seaman, or marine in the Regular Army or Navy of the United States shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State.

SEC. 11. No judge of any court of law or equity, secretary of state, attorney-general, State auditor, State or county treasurer, register, or recorder, clerk of any court of record, sheriff, coroner, member of Congress, nor other person holding any lucrative office under the United States or this State, militia officers, justices of the peace, and postmasters excepted, shall be eligible to either house of the general assembly.

SEC. 12. No person who now is or hereafter may be a collector or holder of public money, nor any assistant or deputy of such collector or holder of public money, shall be eligible to either house of the general assembly, nor to any office of profit or trust until he shall have accounted for and paid all sums for which he may be accountable.

SEC. 13. No person while he continues to exercise the functions of a bishop, priest, clergyman, or teacher of any religious persuasion, denomination, society, or sect whatsoever, shall be eligible to either house of the general assembly; nor shall he be appointed to any office of profit within the State, the office of justice of the peace excepted.

SEC. 14. The general assembly shall have power to exclude from every office of honor, trust, or profit, within the State, and from the right of suffrage, all persons convicted of bribery, perjury, or other infamous crime.

Sec. 15. Every person who shall be convicted of having, directly or indirectly, given or offered any bribe to procure his election or appointment, shall be disqualified for any office of honor, trust, or profit under this State; and any person who shall give or offer any bribe to procure the election or appointment of any person, shall, on conviction thereof, be disqualified for an elector, or for any office of honor, trust, or profit under this State, for ten years after such conviction.

SEC. 16. No senator or representative shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to any civil office under this State which shall have been created, or the emoluments of which shall have been increased, during his continuance in office, except to such offices as shall be filled by elections of the people.

SEC. 17. Each house shall appoint its own officers, and shall judge of the qualifications, elections, and returns of its own members. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members in such manner, and under such penalties, as each house may provide.

Sec. 18. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings; punish its members for disorderly behavior; and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a member; but no member shall be expelled a second time for the same cause. They shall each, from time to time, publish a journal of their proceedings, except such parts as may, in their opinion, require secrecy; and the yeas and nays on any question shall be entered on the journal, at the desire of any two members.

Sec. 19. The doors of each house, and of committee of the whole, shall be kept open, except in cases which may require secrecy; and each house may punish, by fine or imprisonment, any person, not a member, who shall be guilty of disrespect to the house, by any disorderly or contemptuous behavior in their presence, during their session: Provided, That such fine shall not exceed three hundred dollars, and such imprisonment shall not exceed forty-eight hours for one offence.

SEC. 20. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than two days at any one time, nor to any other place than to that in which the two houses may be sitting.

SEC. 21. Bills may originate in either house, and may be altered, amended, or rejected by the other; and every bill shall be read on three different days in each house, unless two-thirds of the house where the same is depending shall dispense with this rule; and every bill, having passed both houses, shall be signed by the speaker of the house of representatives and by the president of the senate.

SEC. 22. When any officer, civil or military, shall be appointed by the joint or concurrent vote of both houses, or by the separate vote of either house of the general assembly, the votes shall be publicly given, viva voce, and entered on the journals. The whole list of members shall be called, and the names of absentees shall be noted and published with the journal.

SEC. 23. Senators and representatives shall, in all cases, except of treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the general assembly, and for fifteen days next before the commencement and after the termination of each session; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

SEC. 24. The members of the general assembly shall severally receive from the public treasury a compensation for their services, which may, from time to time, be increased or diminished by law; but no alteration, increasing or tending to increase the compensation of members, shall take effect during the session at which such alteration shall be made.

Sec. 25: The general assembly shall direct by law in what manner, and in what courts, suits may be brought against the State.

SEC. 26. The general assembly shall not have power to pass laws,

1. For the emancipation of slaves without the consent of their owners; or without paying them, before such emancipation, a full equivalent for such slaves so emancipated; and,

2. To prevent bona-fide immigrants to this State, or actual settlers therein, from bringing from any of the United States, or from any of their Territories, such persons as may there be deemed to be slaves, so long as any persons of the same description are allowed to be held as slaves by the laws of this state.

They shall have power to pass laws

1. To prohibit the introduction into this State of any slaves who may have committed any high crime in any other State or Territory;

2. To prohibit the introduction of any slave for the purpose of speculation, or as an article of trade or merchandise;

3. To prohibit the introduction of any slave, or the offspring of any slave, who heretofore may have been, or who hereafter may be, imported from any foreign country into the United States, or any Territory thereof, in contravention of any existing statute of the United States; and,

4. To permit the owners of slaves to emancipate them, saving the right of creditors, where the person so emancipating will give security that the slave so emancipated shall not become a public charge.

It shall be their duty, as soon as may be, to pass such laws as may be necessary,

1. To prevent free negroes end mulattoes from coming to and settling in this state, under any pretext whatsoever; and,

2. To oblige the owners of slaves to treat them with humanity, and to abstain from all injuries to them extending to life or limb.

SEC. 27. In prosecutions for crimes, slaves shall not be deprived of an impartial trial by jury, and a slave convicted of a capital offence shall suffer the same degree of punishment, and no other, that would be inflicted on a white person for a like offence; and courts of justice, before whom slaves shall be tried, shall assign them counsel for their defence.

SEC. 28. Any person who shall maliciously deprive of life or dismember a slave, shall suffer such punishment as would be inflicted for the like offence if it were committed on a free white person.

SEC. 29. The governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, attorney-general, and all judges of the courts of law and equity, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment in such cases shall not extend further than removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under this State. The party impeached, whether convicted or acquitted, shall, nevertheless, be liable to be indicted, tried, and punished according to law.

SEC. 30. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeachment. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate; and, when sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be on oath or affirmation to do justice according to law and evidence. When the governor shall be tried, the presiding judge of the supreme court shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the senators present.

SEC. 31. A State treasurer shall be biennially appointed by joint vote of the two houses of the general assembly, who shall keep his office at the seat of government. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and an accurate account of the receipts and expenditures of the public money shall be annually published.

SEC. 32. The appointment of all officers, not otherwise directed by this constitution, shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by law; and all officers, both civil and military, under the authority of this state, shall, before entering on the duties of their respective offices, take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United States, and of this State, and to demean themselves faithfully in office.

SEC. 33. The general assembly shall meet on the third Monday in September next; on the first Monday in November, eighteen hundred and twenty-one; on the first Monday in November, eighteen hundred and twenty-two, and thereafter the general assembly shall meet once in every two years, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in November, unless a different day shall be appointed by law.

SEC. 34. No county now established shall ever be reduced, by the establishment of new counties, to less than twenty miles square; nor shall any county hereafter be established which shall contain less than four hundred square miles.

SEC. 35. Within five years after the adoption of this constitution, all the statute laws of a general nature, both civil and criminal, shall be revised, digested, and promulgated, in such manner as the general assembly shall direct, and a like revision, digest, and promulgation shall be made at the expiration of every subsequent period of ten years.

SEC. 36. The style of the laws of this State shall be, “Be it enacted by the general assembly of the State of Missouri."

ARTICLE IV.

OF THE EXECUTIVE POWER.

SECTION 1. The supreme executive power shall be vested in a chief magistrate, who shall be styled “The governor of the State of Missouri.”

SEC. 2. The governor shall be at least thirty-five years of age, and a natural-born citizen of the United States, or a citizen at the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, or an inhabitant of that part of Louisiana now. included in the State of Missouri at the time of the cession thereof from France to the United States, and shall have been a resident of the same at least four years next before his election.

SEC. 3. The governor shall hold his office for four years, and until a successor be duly appointed and qualified. He shall be elected in the manner following: At the time and place of voting for members of the house of representatives, the qualified electors shall vote for a governor; and when two or more persons have an equal number of votes, and a higher number than any person, the election shall be decided between them by a joint vote of both houses of the general assembly, at their next session.

SEC. 4. The governor shall be ineligible for the next four years after the expiration of his term of service.

SEC. 5. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the militia and navy of the State, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States; but he need not command in person, unless advised so to do by a resolution of the general assembly.

SEC. 6. The governor shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures; and, except in cases of impeachment, to grant reprieves and pardons.

SEC. 7. The governor shall, from time to time, give to the general assembly information relative to the state of the government, and shall recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall deem necessary and expedient. On extraordinary occasions he may convene the general assembly by proclamation, and shall state to them the purposes for which they are convened.

SEC. 8. The governor shall take care that the laws be distributed and faithfully executed; and he shall be a conservator of the peace throughout the State.

SEC. 9. When any office shall become vacant, the governor shall appoint a person to fill such vacancy, who shall continue in office until a successor be duly appointed and qualified according to law.

SEC. 10. Every bill which shall have been passed by both houses of the general assembly shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor for his approbation. If he approve, he shall sign it; if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it shall have originated, and the house shall cause the objections to be entered at large on its journals, and shall proceed to reconsider the bill. If, after such reconsideration, a majority of all the members elected to that house shall agree to pass the same, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall be in like manner reconsidered, and if approved by a majority of all the members elected to that house, it shall become a law. In all such cases the votes of both houses shall be taken by yeas and nays; the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the governor within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall become a law, in like manner as if the governor had signed it; unless the general assembly, by its adjournment, shall prevent its return, in which case it shall not become a law.

SEC. 11. Every resolution to which the concurrence of the senate and house of representatives may be necessary, except on cases of adjournment, shall be presented to the governor, and before the same shall take effect shall be proceeded upon in the same manner as in the case of a bill.

SEC. 12. There shall be an auditor of public accounts, whom the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint. He shall continue in office four years, and shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by law, shall be kept at the seat of government,

SEC. 13. The governor shall, at stated times, receive for his services an adequate salary, to be fixed by law, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during his continuance in office, and which shall never be less than two thousand dollars annually.

SEC. 14. There shall be a lieutenant-governor, who shall be elected at the same time, in the same manner, for the same term, and shall possess the same qualifications as the governor. The electors shall distinguish for whom they vote as governor and for whom as lieutenant-governor.

SEC. 15. The lieutenant-governor shall, by virtue of his office, be president of the senate. In committee of the whole he may debate on all questions; and, when there is an equal division, he shall give the casting vote in senate, and also in joint votes of both houses.

SEC. 16. When the office of governor shall become vacant, by death, resignation, absence from the State, removal from office, refusal to qualify, impeachment, or otherwise, the lieutenant-governor, or, in case of like disability on his part, the president of the senate pro tempore, or, if there be no president of the senate pro tempore, the speaker of the house of representatives shall possess all the powers and discharge all the duties of governor, and shall receive for his services the like compensation, until such vacancy be filled, or the governor so absent or impeached shall return or be acquitted.

SEC. 17. Whenever the office of governor shall become vacant, by death, resignation, removal from office, or otherwise, the lieutenant-governor, or other person exercising the powers of governor for the time being, shall, as soon as may be, cause an election to be held to fill such vacancy, giving three months' previous notice thereof; and the person elected shall not thereby be rendered ineligible to the office of governor for the next succeeding term. Nevertheless, if such vacancy shall happen within eighteen months of the end of the term for which the late governor shall have been elected, the same shall not be filled.

SEC. 18. The lieutenant-governor, or president of the senate pro tempore, while presiding in the senate, shall receive the same compensation as shall be allowed to the speaker of the house of representatives.

SEC. 19. The returns of all elections of governor and lieutenant-governor shall be made to the secretary of state, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 20. Contested elections of governor and lieutenant-governor shall be decided by joint vote of both houses of the general assembly, in such manner as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 21. There shall be a secretary of state, whom the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint. He shall hold his office four years, unless sooner removed on impeachment. He shall keep a register of all the official acts and proceedings of the governor, and, when necessary, shall attest them; and he shall lay the same, together with all papers relative thereto, before either house of the general assembly, whenever required so to do; and shall perform such other duties as may be enjoined on him by law.

SEC. 22. The secretary of state shall, as soon as may be, procure a seal of state, with such emblems and devices as shall be directed by law, which shall not be subject to change. It shall be called “The Great Seal of the State of Missouri;” shall be kept by the secretary of state; and all official acts of the governor, his approbation of the laws excepted, shall be thereby authenticated.

SEC. 23. There shall be appointed in each county a sheriff and coroner, who, until the general assembly shall otherwise provide, shall be elected by the qualified electors, at the time and place of electing representatives. They shall serve for two years, and until a successor be duly appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed for misdemeanor in office, and shall be ineligible four years in any term of eight years. The sheriff and coroner shall each give security for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. Whenever a county shall be hereafter established, the governor shall appoint a sheriff and coroner therein, who shall each continue in office until the next succeeding general election, and until a successor shall be duly qualified.

SEC. 24. When vacancies happen in the office of sheriff or coroner, they shall be filled by appointment of the governor; and the persons so appointed shall continue in office until successors shall be duly qualified, and shall not be thereby rendered ineligible for the next succeeding term.

SEC. 25. In all elections of sheriff and coroner, when two or more persons have an equal number of votes, and a higher number than any other person, the circuit courts of the counties respectively shall give the casting vote; and all contested elections for the said offices shall be decided by the circuit courts respectively, in such manner as the general assembly may by law prescribe.

ARTICLE V.

OF THE JUDICIAL POWER.

SECTION 1. The judicial powers, as to matter of law and equity, shall be vested in a supreme court, in a chancellor, in circuit courts, and in such inferior tribunals as the general assembly may from time to time ordain and establish.

SEC. 2. The supreme court, except in cases otherwise directed by this constitution, shall have appellate jurisdiction only, which shall be coextensive with the State, under the restrictions and limitations in this constitution provided.

SEC. 3. The supreme court shall have a general superintending control over all inferior courts of law. It shall have power to issue writs of habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, certiorari, and other original remedial writs, and to hear and determine the same.

SEC. 4. The supreme court shall consist of three judges, any two of whom shall be a quorum; and the said judges shall be conservators of the peace throughout the State.

SEC. 5. The State shall be divided into convenient districts, not to exceed four; in each of which the supreme court shall hold two sessions annually, at such places as the general assembly shall appoint; and, when sitting in either district, it shall exercise jurisdiction over causes originating in that district only: Provided, however, That the general assembly may, at any time hereafter, direct by law that the said court shall be held at one place only.

SEC. 6. The circuit court shall have jurisdiction over all criminal cases which shall not be otherwise provided for by law; and exclusive original jurisdiction in all civil cases which shall not be cognizable before justices of the peace, until otherwise directed by the general assembly. It shall hold its terms in such place in each county as may be by law directed

SEC. 7. The State shall be divided into convenient circuits, for each of which a judge shall be appointed, who, after his appointment, shall reside, and be a conservator of the peace, within the circuit for which he shall be appointed.

SEC. 8. The circuit courts shall exercise a superintending control over all such inferior tribunals as the general assembly may establish, and over justices of the peace in each county in their respective circuits.

SEC. 9. The jurisdiction of the court of chancery shall be coextensive with the State, and the times and places of holding its sessions shall be regulated in the same manner as those of the supreme court.

SEC. 10. The court of chancery shall have original and appellate jurisdiction in all matters of equity, and a general control over executors, administrators, guardians, and minors, subject to appeal, in all cases, to the supreme court, under such limitations as the general assembly may by law provide.

SEC. 11. Until the general assembly shall deem it expedient to establish inferior courts of chancery, the circuit courts shall have jurisdiction in matters of equity, subject to appeal to the court of chancery, in such manner and under such restrictions as shall be prescribed by law.

SEC. 12. Inferior tribunals shall be established in each county for the transaction of all county business, for appointing guardians, for granting letters-testamentary and of administration, and for settling the accounts of executors, administrators, and guardians.

SEC. 13. The governor shall nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint the judges of the superior court, the judges of the circuit courts, and the chancellor, each of whom shall hold his office during good behavior, and shall receive for his services a compensation, which shall not be diminished during his continuance in office, and which shall not be less than two thousand dollars annually.

SEC. 14. No person shall be appointed a judge of the supreme court, nor of a circuit court, nor chancellor, before he shall have attained to the age of thirty years, nor shall any person continue to exercise the duties of any of said offices after he shall have attained to the age of sixty-five years.

SEC. 15. The courts respectively shall appoint their clerks, who shall hold their offices during good behavior. For any misdemeanor in office they shall be liable to be tried and removed by the supreme court, in such manner as the general assembly shall by law provide.

SEC. 16. Any judge of the supreme court, or of the circuit court, or the chancellor, may be removed from office on the address of two-thirds of each house of the general assembly to the governor for that purpose, but each house shall state on its respective journal the cause for which it shall wish the removal of such judge or chancellor, and give him notice thereof, and he shall have the right to be heard in his defence in such manner as the general assembly shall by law direct; but no judge or chancellor shall be removed in this manner for any cause for which he might have been impeached.

SEC. 17. In each county there shall be appointed as many justices of the peace as the public good may be thought to require. Their powers and duties and their duration in office shall be regulated by law.

SEC. 18. An attorney-general shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate. He shall remain in office four years, and shall perform such duties as shall be required of him by law.

SEC. 19. All writs and process shall run and all prosecutions shall be conducted in the name of the State of Missouri; all writs shall be tested by the clerk of the court from which they shall be issued, and all indictments shall conclude, “against the peace and dignity of the State.”

ARTICLE VI.

OF EDUCATION.

SECTION 1. Schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged in this State; and the general assembly shall take measures to preserve from waste or damage such lands as have been, or hereafter may be, granted by the United States for the use of schools within each township in this State, and shall apply the funds which may arise from such lands in strict conformity to the object of the grant; and one school or more shall be established in each township as soon as practicable and necessary, where the poor shall be taught gratis.

SEC. 2. The general assembly shall take measures for the improvement of such lands as have been, or hereafter may be, granted by the United States to this State for the support of a seminary of learning, and the funds accruing from such lands, by rent or lease, or in any other manner, or which may be obtained from any other source, for the purposes aforesaid, shall be and remain a permanent fund to support a university for the promotion of literature and of the arts and sciences, and it shall be the duty of the general assembly, as soon as may be, to provide effectual means for the improvement and permanent security of the funds and endowments of such institution.

ARTICLE VII.

OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT.

Internal improvement shall forever be encouraged by the government of this state, and it shall be the duty of the general assembly, as soon as may be, to make provision by law for ascertaining the most proper objects of improvement, in relation both to roads and navigable waters; and it shall also be their duty to provide by law for a systematic and economical application of the funds appropriated to these objects.

ARTICLE VIII.

OF BANKS.

The general assembly may incorporate one banking company, and no more, to be in operation at the same time.

The bank to be incorporated may have any number of branches not to exceed five, to be established by law, and not more than one branch shall be established at any one session of the general assembly. The capital stock of the bank to be incorporated shall never exceed five millions of dollars, at least one-half of which shall be reserved for the use of the State.

ARTICLE IX.

OF THE MILITIA.

SECTION 1. Field-officers and company-officers shall be elected by the persons subject to militia duty within their respective command. Brigadiers-general shall be elected by the field-officers of their respective brigades, and majors-general by the brigadiers and field-officers of their respective divisions, until otherwise directed by law.

SEC. 2. General and field officers shall appoint their officers of the staff.

SEC. 3. The governor shall appoint an adjutant-general, and all other militia officers whose appointments are not otherwise provided for in this constitution.

ARTICLE X.

OF MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

SECTION 1. The general assembly of this State shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil of the United States, nor with any regulation Congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the United States, nor shall lands belonging to persons residing out of the limits of this state ever be taxed higher than the lands belonging to persons residing within this state.

SEC. 2. The State shall have concurrent jurisdiction on the river Mississippi, and on every other river bordering on the said State, so far as the said river shall form a common boundary to the said State and any other State or States, now or hereafter to be formed, and bounded by the same; and the said river Mississippi, and the navigable rivers and waters leading into the same, whether bordering on or within this State, shall be common highways, and forever free to the citizens of this State and of the United States, without any tax, duty, impost, or toll thereof imposed by the State.

ARTICLE XI.

OF THE PERMANENT SEAT OF GOVERNMENT.

SECTION 1. The general assembly, at their first session, shall appoint five commissioners for the purpose of selecting a place for the permanent seat of government, whose duty it shall be to select four sections of the land of the United States which shall not have been exposed to public sale.

SEC. 2. If the commissioners believe the four sections of land, so by them to be selected, be not a suitable and proper situation for the permanent seat of government, they shall select such other place as they deem most proper for that purpose, and report the same to the general assembly at the time of making their report, provided for in the first section of this article: Provided, That no place shall be selected which is not situated on the bank of the Missouri River, and within forty miles of the mouth of the river Osage.

SEC. 3. If the general assembly determine that the four sections of land which may be selected by authority of the first section of this article be a suitable and proper place for the permanent seat of government, the said commissioners shall lay out a town thereon, under the direction of the general assembly; but if the general assembly deem it most expedient to fix the permanent seat of government at the place to be selected by authority of the second section of this article, they shall so determine, and in that event shall authorize the said commissioners to purchase any quantity of land, not exceeding six hundred and forty acres, which may be necessary for the purpose aforesaid; and the place so selected shall be the permanent seat of government of this State from and after the first day of October, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six.

SEC. 4. The general assembly, in selecting the above-mentioned commissioners, shall choose one from each extreme part of the State, and one from the centre, and it shall require the concurrence of at least three of the commissioners to decide upon any part of the duties assigned them.

ARTICLE XII.

MODE OF AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION.

The general assembly may at any time propose such amendments to this constitution as two-thirds of each house shall deem expedient; which shall be published in all the newspapers published in this State three several times, at least twelve months before the next general election; and if, at the first session of the general assembly after such general election, two-thirds of each house shall, by yeas and nays, ratify such proposed amendments, they shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as parts of this constitution: Provided, That such proposed amendments shall be read on three several days, in each house, as well when the same are proposed as when they are finally ratified.

ARTICLE XIII.

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS.

That the general, great, and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, we declare

SECTION 1. That all political power is vested in, and derived from, the people.

SEC. 2. That the people of this State have the inherent, sole, and exclusive right of regulating the internal government and police thereof, and of altering and abolishing their constitution and form of government whenever it may be necessary to their safety and happiness.

SEC. 3. That the people have the right peaceably to assemble for their common good, and to apply to those vested with the powers of government for redress of grievances by petition or remonstrance; and that their right to bear arms in defence of themselves and of the State cannot be questioned.

SEC. 4. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences; that no man can be compelled to erect, support, or attend any place of worship, or to maintain any minister of the gospel or teacher of religion; that no human authority can control or interfere with the rights of conscience; that no person can ever be hurt, molested, or restrained in his religious profession or sentiments, if he do not disturb others in their religious worship.

SEC. 5. That no person, on account of his religious opinions, can be rendered ineligible to any office of trust or profit under this State; that no preference can ever be given by law to any sect or mode of worship; and that no religious corporation can ever be established in this State.

SEC. 6. That all elections shall be free and equal.

SEC. 7. That courts of justice ought to be open to every person, and certain remedy afforded for every injury to person, property, or character; and that right and justice ought to be administered without sale, denial, or delay; and that no private property ought to be taken or applied to public use without just compensation.

SEC. 8. That the right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.

SEC. 9. That in all criminal prosecutions, the accused has the right to be heard by himself and his counsel; to demand the nature and cause of accusations; to have compulsory process for witnesses in his favor; to meet the witnesses against him face to face; and, in prosecutions on presentment or indictment, to a speedy trial, by an impartial jury of the vicinage; that the accused cannot be compelled to give evidence against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property but by the judgment of bis peers, or the law of the land.

SEC. 10. That no person, after having been once acquitted by a jury, can, for the same offence, be again put in jeopardy of life or limb; but if in any criminal prosecution the jury be divided in opinion at the end of the term, the court before which the trial shall be had may, in its discretion, discharge the jury, and commit or bail the accused for trial at the next term of such court.

SEC. 11. That all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital ofFences, when the proof is evident or the presumption great; and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus cannot be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it

SEC. 12. That excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

SEC. 13. That the people ought to be secure in their persons, papers, houses, and effects from unreasonable searches and seizures; and no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or thing, can issue without describing the place to be searched, or the person or thing to be seized, as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation.

SEC. 14. 'That no person can, for an indictable offence, be proceeded against criminally, by information, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in actual service, in time of war or public danger, or by leave of the court, for oppression or misdemeanor in office.

SEC. 15. That treason against the State can consist only in levying war against it, or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort; that no person can be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on his own confession in open court; that no person can be attainted of treason or felony by the general assembly; that no conviction can work corruption of blood, or forfeiture of estate; that the estates of such persons as may destroy their own lives shall descend or vest as in cases of natural death; and when any person shall be killed by casualty, there ought to be no forfeiture by reason thereof.

SEC. 16. That the free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the invaluable rights of man, and that every person may freely speak, write, and print on any subject, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty; that in all prosecutions for libels the truth thereof may be given in evidence, and the jury may determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court.

SEC. 17. That no ex post facto law, nor law impairing the obligation of contracts, or retrospective in its operations, can be passed; nor can the person of a debtor be imprisoned for debt after he shall have surrendered his property for the benefit of his creditors in such manner as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 18. That no person who is religiously scrupulous of bearing arms can be compelled to do so, but may be compelled to pay an equivalent for military service, in such manner as shall be prescribed by law; and that no priest, preacher of the gospel, or teacher of any religious persuasion or sect, regularly ordained as such, be subject to militia duty, or compelled to bear arms.

SEC. 19. That all property, subject to taxation in this State, shall be taxed in proportion to its value.

SEC. 20. That no title of nobility, hereditary emolument, privilege, or distinction shall be granted; nor any office created, the duration of which shall be longer than the good behavior of the officer appointed to fill the same.

SEC. 21. That emigration from this State cannot be prohibited.

SEC. 22. That the military is, and in all cases and at all times shail be, in strict subordination to the civil power ; that no soldier can, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in such manner as may be prescribed by law; nor can any appropriation for the support of any army be made for a longer period than two years.

SCHEDULE.

SECTION 1. That no inconvenience may arise from the change of government, we declare, that all writs, actions, prosecutions, judgments, claims, and contracts of individuals and of bodies-corporate shall continue as if no change had taken place; and all process which may, before the third Monday in September next, be issued under the authority of the Territory of Missouri shall be as valid as if issued in the name of the State.

SEC. 2. All laws now in force in the Territory of Missouri, which are not repugnant to this constitution, shall remain in force until they expire by their own limitations, or be altered or repealed by the general assembly.

SEC. 3. All fines, penalties, forfeitures, and escheats, accruing to the Territory of Missouri, shall accrue to the use of the State.

SEC. 4. All recognizances heretofore taken, or which may be taken before the third Monday in September next, shall remain valid, and shall pass over to and may be prosecuted in the name of the State; and all bonds executed to the governor of the Territory, or to any other officer or court, in his official capacity, shall pass over to the governor, or other proper State authority, and to their successors in office, for the uses therein respectively expressed, and may be sued for and recovered accordingly. All criminal prosecutions and penal actions which have arisen, or which may arise before the third Monday in September next, and which shall then be depending, shall be prosecuted to judgment and execution in the name of the State. All actions at law which now are, or which, on the third Monday in September next, may be depending in any of the courts of record in the Territory of Missouri may be commenced in or transferred to any court of record of the State which shall have jurisdiction of the subject matter thereof; and all suits in equity may, in like manner, be commenced in or transferred to the court of chancery.

SEC. 5. All officers, civil and military, now holding commissions under the authority of the United States, or of the Territory of Missouri, shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices until they shall be superseded under the authority of the State; and all such officers holding commissions under the authority of the Territory of Missouri shall receive the same compensation which they hitherto received, in proportion to the time they shall be so employed.

SEC. 6. The first meeting of the general assembly shall be at Saint Louis, with power to adjourn to any other place; and the general assembly, at the first session thereof, shall fix the seat of government until the first day of October, eighteen hundred and twenty-six; and the first session of the general assembly shall have power to fix the compensation of the members thereof; anything in the constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 7. Until the first enumeration shall be made, as directed in this constitution, the county of Howard shall be entitled to eight representatives, the county of Cooper to four representatives, the county of Montgomery to two representatives, the county of Lincoln to one representative, the county of Pike to two representatives, the county of Saint Charles to three representatives, the county of Saint Louis to six representatives, the county of Jefferson to one representative, the county of Washington to two representatives, the county of Saint Genevieve to four representatives, the county of Cape Girardeau to four representatives, the county of New Madrid to two representatives, the county of Madison to one representative, the county of Wayne to one representative, and that part of the county of Saint Lawrence situated within this State, shall attach to and form part of the county of Wayne until otherwise provided by law, and the sheriff of the county of Wayne shall appoint the judges of the first election, and the place of holding the same, in the part thus attached; and any person who shall have resided within the limits of this State five months previous to the adoption of this constitution, and who shall be otherwise qualified as prescribed in the third section of the third article thereof, shall be eligible to the house of representatives, anything in this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 8. For the first election of senators, the State shall be divided into districts, and the apportionment shall be as follows, that is to say, the counties of Howard and Cooper shall compose one district and elect four senators, the counties of Montgomery and Franklin shall compose one district and elect one senator, the county of Saint Charles shall compose one district and elect one senator, the counties of Lincoln and Pike shall compose one district and elect one senator, the county of Saint Louis shall compose one district and elect two senators, the counties of Washington and Jefferson shall compose one district and elect one senator, the county of Saint Genevieve shall compose one district and elect one senator, the counties of Madison and Wayne shall compose one district and elect one senator, the counties of Cape Girardeau and New Madrid shall compose one district and elect two senators; and in all cases where a senatorial district consists of more than one county, it shall be the duty of the clerk of the county second named in that district to certify the returns of the senatorial election within their proper county to the clerk of the county first named, within five days after he shall have received the same; and any person who shall have resided within the limits of this State five months previous to the adoption of this constitution, and who shall be otherwise qualified as prescribed in the fifth section of the third article thereof, shall be eligible to the senate of this State, anything in this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 9. The president of the convention shall issue writs of election to the sheriffs of the several counties, or in case of vacancy to the coroners, requiring them to cause an election to be held on the fourth Monday in August next, for a governor, a lieutenant-governor, a Representative in the Congress of the United States, for the residue of the Sixteenth Congress, a Representative for the Seventeenth Congress, senators and representatives for the general assembly, sheriffs and coroners, and the returns of all township elections, held in pursuance thereof, shall be made to the clerks of the proper county within five days after the day of election; and any person who shall reside within the limits of this State at the time of the adoption of this constitution, and who shall be otherwise qualified as prescribed in the tenth section of the third article thereof, shall be deemed a qualified elector, anything in this constitution to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 10. The elections shall be conducted according to the existing laws of the Missouri Territory. The clerks of the circuit courts of the several counties shall certify the returns of the election of governor and lieutenant-governor, and transmit the same to the speaker of the house of representatives, at the temporary seat of government, in such time that they may be received on the third Monday of September next. As soon as the general assembly shall be organized, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president pro tempore of the senate, shall, in the presence of both houses, examine the returns, and declare who are duly elected to fill those offices; and if any two or more persons shall have an equal number of votes, and a higher number than any other person, the general assembly shall determine the election in the manner herein provided; and the returns of the election for members of Congress shall be made to the secretary of the State within thirty days after the day of election.

SEC. 11. The oaths of office, herein directed to be taken, may be administered by any judge or justice of the peace, until the general assembly shall otherwise direct.

SEC. 12. Until a seal of the State be provided, the governor may use his private seal.

DAVID BARTON, President.

W. G. PETTUS, Secretary.

_______________

* This constitution was framed by a convention which met at Saint Louis June 12, 1820, and completed its labors July 19, 1820. It was ratified by the people at the ensuing election.

SOURCES: Benjamin Perley Poore, Compiler, The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the United States, Part 2, p. 1104-17

Enabling Act For Missouri, March 6, 1820

[SIXTEENTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION.]

An Act to authorize the people of Missouri Territory to form a constitution and State government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal footing with the original States, and to prohibit slavery in certain Territories.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the inhabitants of that portion of the Missouri Territory included within the boundaries hereinafter designated, be, and they are hereby, authorized to form for themselves a constitution and State government, and to assume such name as they shall deem proper; and the said State, when formed, shall be admitted into the Union upon an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatsoever.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said State shall consist of all the territory included within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning in the middle of the Mississippi River, on the parallel of thirty-six degrees of north latitude; thence west along that parallel of latitude to the Saint François River; thence up, and following the course of that river, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the parallel of latitude of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes; thence west, along the same, to a point where the said parallel is intersected by a meridian-line passing through the middle of the mouth of the Kansas River, where the same empties into the Missouri River; thence from the point aforesaid north, along the said meridian-line, to the intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the river Des Moines, making the said line to correspond with the Indian boundary-line; thence east, from the point of intersection last aforesaid, along the said parallel of latitude, to the middle of the channel of the main fork of the said river Des Moines; thence down and along the middle of the main channel of the said river Des Moines to the mouth of the same, where it empties into the Mississippi River; thence due east to the middle of the main channel of Mississippi River; thence down, and following the course of the Mississippi River, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the place of beginning: Provided, The State shall ratify the boundaries aforesaid: And provided also, That the said State shall have concurrent jurisdiction on the river Mississippi, and every other river bordering on the said State, so far as the said rivers shall form a common boundary to the said State and any other State or States, now or hereafter to be formed and bounded by the same, such rivers to be common to both; and that the river Mississippi, and the navigable rivers and waters leading into the same, shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said State as to other citizens of the United States, without any tax, duty, impost, or toll therefor imposed by the said State.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all free white male citizens of the United States, who shall have arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and have resided in said Territory three months previous to the day of election, and all other persons qualified to vote for representatives to the general assembly of the said Territory, shall be qualified to be elected, and they are hereby qualified and authorized to vote and choose representatives to form a convention, who shall be apportioned amongst the several counties as follows:

From the county of Howard, five representatives.

From the county of Cooper, three representatives.

From the county of Montgomery, two representatives.

From the county of Pike, one representative.

From the county of Lincoln, one representative.

From the county of Saint Charles, three representatives.

From the county of Franklin, one representative.

From the county of Saint Louis, eight representatives.

From the county of Jefferson, one representative.

From the county of Washington, three representatives.

From the county of Saint Genevieve, four representatives.

From the county of Madison, one representative.

From the county of Cape Girardeau, five representatives.

From the county of New Madrid, two representatives.

From the county of Wayne, and that portion of the county of Lawrence that falls within the boundaries herein designated, one representative.

And the election for the representatives aforesaid shall be holden on the first Monday and two succeeding days of May next, throughout the several counties aforesaid in the said Territory, and shall be in every respect held and conducted in the same manner and under the same regulations as is prescribed by the laws of the said Territory regulating elections therein for members of the general assembly, except that the returns of the election in that portion of Lawrence County included in the boundaries aforesaid shall be made to the county of Wayne, as is provided in other cases under the laws of said Territory.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the members of the convention thus duly elected shall be, and they are hereby, authorized to meet at the seat of government of said Territory, on the second Monday of the month of June next; and the said convention, when so assembled, shall have power and authority to adjourn to any other place in the said Territory, which to them shall seem best for the convenient transaction of their business; and which convention, when so met, shall first determine, by a majority of the whole number elected, whether it be or be not expedient at that time to form a constitution and State government for the people within the said Territory, as included within the boundaries above designated; and, if it be deemed expedient, the convention shall be, and hereby is, authorized to form a constitution and State government; or, if it be deemed more expedient, the said convention shall provide by ordinance for electing representatives to form a constitution or frame of government; which said representatives shall be chosen in such manner, and in such proportion, as they shall designate, and shall meet at such time and place as shall be prescribed by the said ordinance; and shall then form for the people of said Territory, within the boundaries aforesaid, a constitution and State government: Provided, That the same, whenever formed, shall be republican, and not repugnant to the Constitution of the United States; and that the legislature of said State shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States, nor with any regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona-fide purchasers; and that no tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the United States; and in no case shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents.

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That, until the next general census shall be taken, the said State shall be entitled to one Representative in the House of Representatives of the United States.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the following propositions be, and the same are hereby, offered to the convention of the said Territory of Missouri, when formed, for their free acceptance or rejection, which, if accepted by the convention, shall be obligatory upon the United States:

First. That section numbered sixteen in every township, and when such section has been sold, or otherwise disposed of, other lands, equivalent thereto and as contiguous as may be, shall be granted to the State for the use of the inhabitants of such township, for the use of schools.

Second. That all salt-springs, not exceeding twelve in number, with six sections of land adjoining to each, shall be granted to the said State, for the use of said State, the same to be selected by the legislature of the said State, on or before the first day of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, and the same, when so selected, to be used under such terms, conditions, and regulations as the legislature of said State shall direct: Provided, That no salt-spring, the right whereof now is, or hereafter shall be, confirmed or adjudged to any individual or individuals, shall, by this section, be granted to said State: And provided also, That the legislature shall never sell or lease the same, at any one time, for a longer period than ten years, without the consent of Congress.

Third. That 5 per cent. of the net proceeds of the sale of lands lying within the said Territory, or State, and which shall be sold by Congress, from and after the first day of January next, after deducting all expenses incident to the same, shall be reserved for making public roads and canals, of which three-fifths shall be applied to those objects within the State, under the direction of the legislature thereof; and the other two-fifths in defraying, under the direction of Congress, the expenses to be incurred in making of a road or roads, canal or canals, leading to the said State.

Fourth. That four entire sections of land be, and the same are hereby, granted to the said State, for the purpose of fixing their seat of government thereon, which said sections shall, under the direction of the legislature of said State, be located, as near as may be, in one body, at any time, in such townships and ranges as the legislature aforesaid may select, on any of the public lands of the United States: Provided, That such locations shall be made prior to the public sale of the lands of the United States surrounding such location.

Fifth. That thirty-six sections, or one entire township, which shall be designated by the President of the United States, together with the other lands heretofore reserved for that purpose, shall be reserved for the use of a seminary of learning, and vested in the legislature of said State, to be appropriated solely for the use of such seminary by the said legislature: Provided, That the five foregoing propositions herein offered are on the condition that the convention of the said State shall provide, by an ordinance, irrevocable without the consent of the United States, that every and each tract of land sold by the United States, from and after the first day of January next, shall remain exempt from any tax laid by order or under the authority of the State, whether for State, county, or township, or any other purpose whatever, for the term of five years from and after the day of sale: And further, That the bounty-lands granted, or hereafter to be granted, for military services during the late war, shall, while they continue to be held by the patentees, or their heirs, remain exempt as aforesaid from taxation for the term of three years from and after the date of the patents respectively.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That in case a constitution and State government shall be formed for the people of the said Territory of Missouri, the said convention or representatives, as soon thereafter as may be, shall cause a true and attested copy of such constitution, or frame of State government, as shall be formed or provided, to be transmitted to Congress.

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That in all that territory ceded by France to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies north of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north latitude, not included within the limits of the State contemplated by this act, slavery and involuntary servitude, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the parties shall have been duly convicted, shall be, and is hereby, forever prohibited: Provided always, That any person escaping into the same from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any State or Territory of the United States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or services as aforesaid.

APPROVED, March 6, 1820.

SOURCES: Benjamin Perley Poore, Compiler, The Federal and State Constitutions, Colonial Charters, and Other Organic Laws of the United States, Part 2, p. 1102-4

Diary of Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes: Wednesday, November 2, 1864

Papers of 31st with much good news; small victories in West Virginia, east Tennessee, and over Price in Missouri. Early scolds his army.

SOURCE: Charles Richard Williams, editor, Diary and Letters of Rutherford Birchard Hayes, Volume 2, p. 532

Abraham Lincoln’s Speech at Leavenworth, Kansas, December 3, 1859

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: You are, as yet, the people of a Territory; but you probably soon will be the people of a State of the Union. Then you will be in possession of new privileges, and new duties will be upon you. You will have to bear a part in all that pertains to the administration of the National Government. That government, from the beginning, has had, has now, and must continue to have a policy in relation to domestic slavery. It cannot, if it would, be without a policy upon that subject. And that policy must, of necessity, take one of two directions. It must deal with the institution as being wrong or as not being wrong.

Mr. Lincoln then stated, somewhat in detail, the early action of the General Government upon the question—in relation to the foreign slave trade, the basis of Federal representation, and the prohibition of slavery in the Federal territories; the Fugitive Slave clause in the Constitution, and insisted that, plainly that early policy, was based on the idea of slavery being wrong; and tolerating it so far, and only so far, as the necessity of its actual presence required.

He then took up the policy of the Kansas-Nebraska act, which he argued was based on opposite ideas—that is, the idea that slavery is not wrong. He said: “You, the people of Kansas, furnish the example of the first application of this new policy. At the end of about five years, after having almost continual struggles, fire and bloodshed, over this very question, and after having framed several State Constitutions, you have, at last, secured a Free State Constitution, under which you will probably be admitted into the Union. You have, at last, at the end of all this difficulty, attained what we, in the old North-western Territory, attained without any difficulty at all. Compare, or rather contrast, the actual working of this new policy with that of the old, and say whether, after all, the old way—the way adopted by Washington and his compeers—was not the better way.”

Mr. Lincoln argued that the new policy had proven false to all its promises—that its promise to the Nation was to speedily end the slavery agitation, which it had not done, but directly the contrary—that its promises to the people of the Territories was to give them greater control of their own affairs than the people of former Territories had had; while, by the actual experiment, they had had less control of their own affairs, and had been more bedeviled by outside interference than the people of any other Territory ever had.

He insisted that it was deceitful in its expressed wish to confer additional privileges upon the people; else it would have conferred upon them the privilege of choosing their own officers. That if there be any just reason why all the privileges of a State should not be conferred on the people of a Territory at once, it only could be the smallness of numbers; and that if while their number was small, they were fit to do some things, and unfit to do others, it could only be because those they were unfit to do, were the larger and more important things—that, in this case, the allowing the people of Kansas to plant their soil with slavery, and not allowing them to choose their own Governor, could only be justified on the idea that the planting a new State with slavery was a very small matter, and the election of Governor a very much greater matter. “Now,” said he, “compare these two matters and decide which is really the greater. You have already had, I think, five Governors, and yet, although their doings, in their respective days, were of some little interest to you, it is doubtful whether you now, even remember the names of half of them. They are gone (all but the last) without leaving a trace upon your soil, or having done a single act which can, in the least degree, help or hurt you, in all the indefinite future before you. This is the size of the Governor question. Now, how is it with the slavery question? If your first settlers had so far decided in favor of slavery, as to have got five thousand slaves planted on your soil, you could, by no moral possibility, have adopted a Free State Constitution. Their owners would be influential voters among you as good men as the rest of you, and, by their greater wealth, and consequent, greater capacity, to assist the more needy, perhaps the most influential among you. You could not wish to destroy, or injuriously interfere with their property. You would not know what to do with the slaves after you had made them free. You would not wish to keep them as underlings; nor yet to elevate them to social and political equality. You could not send them away. The slave States would not let you send them there; and the free States would not let you send them there. All the rest of your property would not pay for sending them to Liberia. In one word, you could not have made a free State, if the first half of your own numbers had got five thousand slaves fixed upon the soil. You could have disposed of, not merely five, but five hundred Governors easier. There they would have stuck, in spite of you, to plague you and your children, and your children's children, indefinitely. Which is the greater, this, or the Governor question? Which could the more safely be intrusted to the first few people who settle a Territory? Is it that which, at most, can be but temporary and brief in its effects? or that which being done by the first few, can scarcely ever be undone by the succeeding many?

He insisted that, little as was Popular Sovereignty at first, the Dred Scott decision, which is indorsed by the author of Popular Sovereignty, has reduced it to still smaller proportions, if it has not entirely crushed it out. That, in fact, all it lacks of being crushed out entirely by that decision, is the lawyer's technical distinction between decision and dictum. That the Court has already said a Territorial government cannot exclude slavery; but because they did not say it in a case where a Territorial government had tried to exclude slavery, the lawyers hold that saying of the Court to be dictum and not decision. “But,” said Mr. Lincoln, “is it not certain that the Court will make a decision of it, the first time a Territorial government tries to exclude slavery?”

Mr. Lincoln argued that the doctrine of Popular Sovereignty, carried out, renews the African Slave Trade. Said he: “Who can show that one people have a better right to carry slaves to where they have never been, than another people have to buy slaves wherever they please, even in Africa?”

He also argued that the advocates of Popular Sovereignty, by their efforts to brutalize the negro in the public mind—denying him any share in the Declaration of Independence, and comparing him to the crocodile—were beyond what avowed pro-slavery men ever do, and really did as much, or more than they, toward making the institution national and perpetual.

He said many of the Popular Sovereignty advocates were “as much opposed to slavery as any one;” but that they could never find any proper time or place to oppose it. In their view, it must not be opposed in politics, because that is agitation; nor in the pulpit, because it is not religion; nor in the Free States, because it is not there; nor in the Slave States, because it is there. These gentlemen, however, are never offended by hearing Slavery supported in any of these places. Still, they are “as much opposed to Slavery as anybody.” One would suppose that it would exactly suit them if the people of the Slave States would themselves adopt emancipation; but when Frank Blair tried this last year, in Missouri, and was beaten, every one of them threw up his hat and shouted “Hurrah for the Democracy!”

Mr. Lincoln argued that those who thought Slavery right ought to unite on a policy which should deal with it as being right; that they should go for a revival of the Slave Trade; for carrying the institution everywhere, into Free States as well as Territories; and for a surrender of fugitive slaves in Canada, or war with Great Britain. Said he, “all shades of Democracy, popular sovereign as well as the rest, are fully agreed that slaves are property, and only property. If Canada now had as many horses as she has slaves belonging to Americans, I should think it just cause of war if she did not surrender them on demand.[”]

“On the other hand, all those who believe slavery is wrong should unite on a policy, dealing with it as a wrong. They should be deluded into no deceitful contrivances, pretending indifference, but really working for that to which they are opposed.” He urged this at considerable length.

He then took up some of the objections to Republicans. They were accused of being sectional. He denied it. What was the proof? “Why, that they have no existence, get no votes in the South. But that depends on the South, and not on us. It is their volition, not ours; and if there be fault in it, it is primarily theirs, and remains so, unless they show that we repeal them by some wrong principle. If they attempt this, they will find us holding no principle, other than those held and acted upon by the men who gave us the government under which we live. They will find that the charge of sectionalism will not stop at us, but will extend to the very men who gave us the liberty we enjoy. But if the mere fact that we get no votes in the slave states makes us sectional, whenever we shall get votes in those states, we shall cease to be sectional; and we are sure to get votes, and a good many of them too, in these states next year.

“You claim that you are conservative; and we are not. We deny it. What is conservatism? Preserving the old against the new. And yet you are conservative in struggling for the new, and we are destructive in trying to maintain the old. Possibly you mean you are conservative in trying to maintain the existing institution of slavery. Very well; we are not trying to destroy it. The peace of society, and the structure of our government both require that we should let it alone, and we insist on letting it alone. If I might advise my Republican friends here, I would say to them, leave your Missouri neighbors alone. Have nothing whatever to do with their slaves. Have nothing whatever to do with the white people, save in a friendly way. Drop past differences, and so conduct yourselves that if you cannot be at peace with them, the fault shall be wholly theirs.

“You say we have made the question more prominent than heretofore. We deny it. It is more prominent; but we did not make it so. Despite of us, you would have a change of policy; we resist the change, and in the struggle, the greater prominence is given to the question. Who is responsible for that, you or we? If you would have the question reduced to its old proportions go back to the old policy. That will effect it.

“But you are for the Union; and you greatly fear the success of the Republicans would destroy the Union. Why? Do the Republicans declare against the Union? Nothing like it. Your own statement of it is, that if the Black Republicans elect a President, you won't stand it. You will break up the Union. That will be your act, not ours. To justify it, you must show that our policy gives you just cause for such desperate action. Can you do that? When you attempt it, you will find that our policy is exactly the policy of the men who made the Union. Nothing more and nothing less. Do you really think you are justified to break up the government rather than have it administered by Washington, and other good and great men who made it, and first administered it? If you do you are very unreasonable; and more reasonable men cannot and will not submit to you. While you elect [the] President, we submit, neither breaking nor attempting to break up the Union. If we shall constitutionally elect a President, it will be our duty to see that you submit. Old John Brown has just been executed for treason against a state. We cannot object, even though he agreed with us in thinking slavery wrong. That cannot excuse violence, bloodshed, and treason. It could avail him nothing that he might think himself right. So, if constitutionally we elect a President, and therefore you undertake to destroy the Union, it will be our duty to deal with you as old John Brown has been dealt with. We shall try to do our duty. We hope and believe that in no section will a majority so act as to render such extreme measures necessary.”

Mr. Lincoln closed by an appeal to all—opponents as well as friends—to think soberly and maturely, and never fail to cast their vote, insisting that it was not a privilege only, but a duty to do so.

SOURCE: Roy P. Bassler, Editor, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 3, p. 497-502 which cites Illinois State Journal, December 12, 1859 as its source.