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 listory and Government 
 of Missouri 
 
 BY 
 
 C. H. McCLURE, A.M. 
 
 ISTORY AND CIVICS, STATE 
 WARREaVSBURG, MISSOURI 
 
 PPOFESSOR OF HISTORY AND CIVICS, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 
 
 A Supplement to 
 
 ELEMENTARY AMERICAN HISTORY AND 
 GOVERNMENT 
 
 BY 
 
 James Albert Woodburn, Ph.D. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY AND POLITICS IN INDIANA UNIVERSITY 
 
 AND 
 
 Thomas Francis Moran, Ph.D. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND ECONOMICS IN PURDUE UNIVERSITY 
 
 LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO. 
 
 FOURTH AVENUE AND 30TH STREET, NEW YORK 
 PRAIRIE AVENUE AND 25TH STREET, CHICAGO 
 
 Copyright, 1918, by Longmans, Green and Co. 
 
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HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF 
 MISSOURI 
 
 By C. H. McCLURE, A.M. 
 
 Professor of History and Civics, State Normal School, Warrcnsburg, Missouri 
 
 Geography. Missouri is located very near the center of the 
 United States. It is also centrally located with respect to the 
 Mississippi valley, the greatest drainage area in the world 
 
 MISSOURI 
 
 adapted to the needs of civilized man. The Mississippi river, 
 the great water highway across the United States from north 
 to south, washes the entire eastern border of the state and the 
 
2 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 Missouri forms about one third of the western boundary and 
 then flows entirely across the state from west to east. The Ohio 
 river enters the Mississippi opposite the southern portion of 
 the state. The Ohio and the Missouri with the portion of the 
 Mississippi between the mouths of the two rivers forms the 
 great water highway which crosses the Mississippi basin from 
 east to west. These waterways either border or traverse the 
 state for nearly looo miles. Thus Missouri lies at the crossing 
 of these great highways which furnished the chief means of 
 travel and transportation before the coming of the railroad and 
 which will always furnish great facilities for carrying freight. 
 
 Missouri has a great variety of surface features. There are 
 nine different drainage areas in the state, each separated from 
 the other by watersheds. These divides and the longer river 
 valleys furnish natural routes for traversing the country. These 
 natural routes were early utilized by the wild animals and de- 
 termined the location of the buffalo path. The Indian trail 
 followed the buffalo path. The blazed trail of the pioneer fol- 
 lowed the Indian trail. The wagon road of the early settler 
 followed the pioneer's trail. And the railroads of the present 
 followed those wagon roads of the early settlers. These natural 
 routes of travel exercised great influence on the early settlement 
 of the state and are still potent factors in the lives of its people. 
 
 Natural Resources. The natural resources of Missouri are 
 sufficient to insure her a prominent place among the common- 
 wealths of the United States for all time, provided they are 
 conserved and used with the good judgment that should char- 
 acterize the action of civilized man. The chief natural resource 
 of Missouri is her soils. There are a great variety of soils rang- 
 ing from the rich loess soils of northwest Missouri to the thin 
 stony soils of the Ozark region. The loess, a brown soil of glacial 
 origin, is found in the northwest part of the state. The belt of 
 loess soil follows the Missouri river, gradually becoming nar- 
 rower until it disappears near the center of the state. Another 
 very rich soil is the black alluvial soil found in the river valleys 
 
 ©CI,A505513 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 3 
 
 in various parts of the state but chiefly in southeast Missouri. 
 A third type of soil that is very productive and easily culti- 
 vated is the prairie soil. This is found north of the Missouri 
 river outside of the loess and alluvial districts and south of the 
 river in the western part of the state. Bordering the Ozarks is 
 found a soil fully as productive, though not as easily cultivated, 
 as the prairie soils of the state. Finally there is the large area 
 of thin stony soil of the Ozarks covering the south central por- 
 tion of the state. Yet these Ozark hills if devoted to fruit rais- 
 ing, dairying, and poultry are capable of sustaining a large 
 population. 
 
 Second in importance to soil stand the mineral resources of 
 the state. While gold and silver have not been found in any 
 quantity, there is an abundance of the useful minerals, especially 
 lead, zinc, coal, iron, and clay. 
 
 Significance of Missouri History. The location of Missouri 
 on the great natural crossroads of the Mississippi valley, her 
 unsurpassed natural resources, and the peculiar circumstances 
 under which she was settled and developed, have made her 
 history significant not only for her own citizens, but for the 
 entire nation as well. Her application for statehood brought 
 on the first violent slavery agitation experienced by the nation 
 and lines drawn then were not materially changed until the 
 issue was decided by the Civil War. (See pages 288-292.) 
 
 Missouri was for many years a peninsula of civilization thrust 
 across the great river into the wilderness beyond, and as such 
 she became the out-fitting point for pioneers and settlers going 
 to Oregon, California, Texas, and other points in the great west. 
 Missouri was also a peninsula of slave territory extending north 
 of Mason and DLxon's line, and for forty years she maintained 
 her position surrounded on three sides by free territory. (See 
 map page 291.) In i860 she was the most populous slave state 
 except Virginia, the largest slave state except Texas, and was 
 only surpassed in number of slaves by South Carolina. Mis- 
 souri's great importance as a border state was recognized by 
 
4 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 President Lincoln, who selected two of his cabinet members 
 from Missouri and based his border state policy upon her 
 leadership. After the Civil War the problems of Reconstruc- 
 tion were first fought out within her borders and it was here 
 the Liberal Republican party was born and had its first and 
 greatest successes. Thus Missouri pointed the way to a general 
 amnesty and a reunited people. 
 
 DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION, 1541-1732 
 
 De Soto. The first white man to set foot on Missouri soil 
 was most probably the Spaniard, De Soto, in the year 1541. 
 (See page 25.) His expedition seems to have traveled as far 
 north as southern Missouri and crossed the state from east to 
 west,^ but his coming is of no importance except to mark a be- 
 ginning. For 132 years no white man's voice was heard within 
 the present limits of the state. 
 
 The French. The Frenchmen Joliet and Marquette floated 
 down the Mississippi past the eastern border of Missouri in 
 1673. From this time on the French were active in exploring 
 and settling the Mississippi valley. 
 
 In 1682 La Salle floated past Missouri, reached the mouth 
 of the Mississippi river, and took possession of the entire valley 
 for the king of France. These expeditions aroused sufficient 
 interest in the valley of the great river among Canadians to 
 cause missionaries, fur traders, and some Canadian-French 
 peasants to come to the milder climate and richer soil of the 
 southwest. Before 1700 at least two settlements, Kaskaskia 
 and Cohokia, had been made in the rich bottom land just across 
 the river from the present state of Missouri, the former about 
 sixty, the latter about six miles below the site of St. Louis. 
 
 La Salle had attempted to found a settlement at the mouth 
 of the Mississippi in 1686 but had failed. However, in 1699 the 
 French-Canadian Iberville succeeded in establishing a per- 
 manent settlement near the mouth of the river, and from this 
 
 1 See Houck's "History of Missouri," Vol. I, Ch. i. 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 5 
 
 time on there was communication between the Illinois coun- 
 try and the outside world by way of the Mississippi river. 
 
 In 17 1 2 the French government granted a monopoly of all 
 the trade in the Mississippi valley to a rich French merchant 
 named Crozat. After trying for five years to develop trade and 
 spending considerable sums of money he surrendered his charter 
 to the government. The same year, 17 17, the entire valley was 
 granted to the famous Mississippi Company. This company 
 was given great privileges in France as well as in America, 
 It was allowed to issue paper currency in France guaranteed 
 by the stock of the company. The development of the Missis- 
 sippi was necessary in order to make the stock good. The com- 
 pany, therefore, spent millions of dollars in an effort to develop 
 the country. Fort Chartres was founded a few miles above 
 Kaskaskia. Du Tigne was sent to explore what is now the in- 
 terior of Missouri. Renault, one of the directors of the com- 
 pany, came out in 1720 with a large number of skilled miners 
 and slaves. He found no silver or gold, but worked the lead 
 mines around Potosi. Fort Orleans was erected somewhere 
 on the upper Missouri, probably in what is now Saline County, 
 but was destroyed by the Indians after a few years. After about 
 fourteen years of activity, during which the population of the 
 valley was increased to about 7000, the company failed and 
 surrendered its charter to the crown in 1731. Although no per- 
 manent settlement had been made within the present state of 
 Missouri, so far as we know, the country was well known and 
 was being traversed every year by missionaries, miners, and 
 
 fur traders. 
 
 PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT, 1732 1804 
 
 Ste. Genevieve. The first permanent settlement within the 
 present Imiits of the state of Missouri was made at Ste. Genevieve 
 at least as early as 1732. Soon after the settlement at Kaskas- 
 kia the people began crossing the river to obtain salt which 
 could be manufactured on the Saline river on the west side of 
 the Mississippi. The famous lead mines of St. Francois and 
 
6 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 Washington counties were soon discovered, and the French 
 secured lead there for the manufacture of bullets quite early. 
 The lead and slate mines were worked by people who lived on 
 the east side of the river at first, but later they built homes 
 on the west side of the river at Ste. Genevieve. Just how early 
 the first inhabitants of Ste. Genevieve built their cabins there, 
 is not known, but there is evidence that it was about 1732. 
 
 The period of settlement naturally falls into two parts: the 
 French period from 1732 to 1763, and the Spanish period from 
 1763 to 1804. 
 
 The French Period. After the Mississippi Company sur- 
 rendered its charter in 1731 and quit spending money trying 
 to develop Louisiana, the population declined. About 7000 
 people lived in the valley in 1731, and ten years later there 
 were not more than 5000. The French government was not 
 interested in America and the colony was a continual expense. 
 The people lived the easy free Hfe of the pioneer. The soil was 
 so rich that very little effort was required to produce all the 
 agricultural products needed. There was no incentive to pro- 
 duce more because there was no market. Some food supplies 
 were sent to New Orleans because that part of the colony did 
 not raise enough for its own consumption. The people trapped 
 and traded in furs which could be sent to the European market 
 much easier than the more bulky agricultural products. The 
 people had no education and did not want any. The priest 
 could do the reading for the entire community. They took no 
 part in the government and did not want to do so. That was 
 the King's business. Each generation lived like the, preceding 
 one, and progress or improvement was impossible. This con- 
 dition prevailed throughout the entire French period and for 
 the most part through the Spanish period also. The Ameri- 
 can settler who came in during the latter part of the Spanish 
 period was an exception to the rule. 
 
 Spanish Period — Founding of St. Louis. The expense of the 
 colony in America caused the French government to try again 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 7 
 
 to make the colony self-supporting by granting a monopoly of 
 the fur trade to a mercantile company of New Orleans. This 
 company, Maxent, Laclede & Co., received their grant in 1762, 
 and the next summer Laclede came up the river to Ste. Gene- 
 vieve with merchandise to establish his trading post. He stored 
 his goods for the winter at Ft. Chartres. During the winter he 
 explored the west bank of the river carefully and selected the 
 high ground on the west bank of the Mississippi a few miles 
 below the mouth of the Missouri for his trading post. In Feb- 
 ruary, 1764, he sent Auguste Chouteau, his step-son, with a 
 band of laborers to erect a store house on this site. During the 
 summer of 1764 he moved his goods and family to the new 
 trading post, and St. Louis became the commercial center of 
 the upper Mississippi valley. The commerce consisted chiefly 
 of furs and the merchandise which the Frenchmen used in ex- 
 change, but agricultural and mineral products were added as 
 the country was settled. 
 
 First Rush of Emigrants to Missouri. In 1763 the treaty of 
 Paris brought the French and Indian War to a close. By this 
 treaty France gave to England all her territory east of the Mis- 
 sissippi river. She also publicly recognized a previous secret 
 treaty by which she had given to Spain all the territory west 
 of the river. The settlers in the Mississippi valley had heard of 
 the cession to England before they learned of the transfer of 
 the territory on the west side of the river to Spain. Many 
 of the French settlers on the east side moved to the west side 
 to avoid coming under the rule of England. Even after the full 
 text of the treaty became known, this movement continued, 
 because the French settlers preferred to become Spanish sub- 
 jects rather than English subjects. This caused St. Louis, 
 which had become the seat of the French and later the Spanish 
 government of the upper district, to grow quite rapidly for two 
 or three years. After that the growth was very slow for ten or 
 fifteen years. Practically no one came from France or Spain 
 except the officials sent out by the government. 
 
8 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 The American Revolution. During the American Revolu- 
 tion Virginia sent George Rogers Clark with a small force to 
 drive the English out of the territory between the Ohio river 
 and Canada. By this time France and Spain were both allies 
 of the Colonies against the English. Clark aided in preventing 
 the capture of St. Louis by the English, and captured Fort 
 Chartres, Kaskaskia, and Vincennes, the chief places held by 
 the English. By the terms of the Treaty of 1783, which closed 
 the Revolutionary War, this Northwest Territory, as it was 
 called, became a part of the United States. Before the adop- 
 tion of the constitution the United States government was so 
 weak that it could not enforce the law and protect life and 
 property in this western territory. Many people who had 
 property and desired protection moved to the Spanish terri- 
 tory west of the Mississippi, where the more efficient military 
 government administered by Spain did preserve order and 
 punish crime. The famous Ordinance of 1787 (see page 172) 
 prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory. This probably 
 increased the movement across the river, as slave owners pre- 
 ferred to move rather than give up their slaves. These emi- 
 grants were chiefly French. The Americans, the people who 
 were to make the great state of Missouri, had not yet begun 
 to come in force. 
 
 The American Migration. The Spanish government was 
 dissatisfied with the treaty of 1783. Spain had hoped to obtain 
 the entire Mississippi valley and confine the United States to 
 the eastern mountains and the Atlantic slope. Although the 
 treaty had granted the free use of the Mississippi to the United 
 States, the Spanish refused to allow the commerce of the Ameri- 
 cans to pass New Orleans. The Spanish officials even plotted 
 to get the American settlers west of the Appalachian mountains 
 to secede and join Louisiana in order to secure the cormnercial 
 privileges of the Mississippi. A deaf ear was turned to the 
 repeated remonstrances of the United States government until 
 1795, when the Spanish government suddenly reversed its 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 9 
 
 entire American policy. The lower Mississippi was opened to 
 the American commerce of the upper valley and at the same 
 time provisions were made for granting large tracts of land to 
 Americans who would settle in upper Louisiana. An American 
 could obtain a title to 800 acres of the best land by simply liv- 
 ing on it and making the necessary proof of residence. This 
 change of policy and especially the liberal land grants seem to 
 have been caused by a threatened war between England and 
 Spain. The Spanish statesmen doubtless thought that the best 
 defense for upper Louisiana against an English attack from 
 Canada would be an army of American pioneer settlers defend- 
 ing their homes. The trouble between England and Spain was 
 settled without war, but the liberal land grant policy of the 
 Spanish government caused a third movement of settlers across 
 the Mississippi from the western states to Upper Louisiana. 
 This time the new settlers were Americans who spoke the Eng- 
 lish language and for the most part adhered to one of the Protes- 
 tant churches. This movement continued throughout the 
 remaining years of Spanish control. 
 
 The Five Districts of Upper Louisiana. By the end of the 
 period (1804) the population was estimated to be 10,120 within 
 the limits of the present state of Missouri. The people were 
 divided as follows: Americans 5090, French 3760, and negro 
 slaves 1270. There were five groups of population and each 
 group was known as a district. The district of New Madrid 
 was farthest south, having for its center the town of New 
 Madrid. To the north was the district of Cape Girardeau, 
 settled largely by Americans. The district of Ste. Genevieve, 
 centered about the old French town of the same name, lay north 
 of Cape Girardeau. Between the district of Ste. Genevieve and 
 the Missouri river lay the district of St. Louis. The French 
 trading village of St. Louis was the chief town of the district 
 and the seat of government for Upper Louisiana. Finally all 
 the territory lying between the Missouri and the Mississippi 
 Rivers was called the district of St. Charles. The chief settle- 
 
lo ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 merit was the old French village of St. Charles. The greater 
 part of the French inhabitants lived in the four towns of New 
 Madrid, Ste. Genevieve, St. Louis, and St. Charles. The 
 American settlers lived in the town of Cape Girardeau and were 
 scattered over the frontiers of all the districts. 
 
 Missouri becomes American Territory. Napoleon Bona- 
 parte compelled Spain to exchange Louisiana for some territory 
 that he had conquered in Italy. Thus France, at that time the 
 strongest nation of Europe, became the owner of Louisiana. 
 Could Napoleon's ambitions have been realized, the history of 
 Missouri would doubtless have been quite a different story. 
 However, Napoleon soon saw that the war with England would 
 be renewed, and, in order to put Louisiana beyond the possi- 
 bility of English conquest, he sold the entire territory to the 
 United States. (See pages 222-226.) Although the treaty of 
 San Ildefonso, by which France acquired Louisiana from 
 Spain, was made in 1800, the French had not taken formal 
 possession of the territory, and the Spanish officers still ruled 
 the country. The territory was formally handed over to the 
 French by the Spanish officials on March 8, 1804. The next 
 day it was again fonnally transferred by the French officials 
 to the officers of the United States government. Thus ended 
 the second period of Missouri's history. 
 
 QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 
 
 1. Describe the different soils in Missouri. 
 
 2. Who was the first white man to come to Missouri? When? 
 
 3. What nation was active in settling the Mississippi valley? Who 
 
 attempted to found a settlement? Who succeeded? 
 
 4. Tell about the Mississippi Company. 
 
 5. Where and when was the first permanent settlement made within 
 
 the present limits of Missouri? What kind of mines were discovered? 
 Where? 
 
 6. When was the French Period of Settlement? Tell what was done. 
 
 7. Describe the founding of St. Louis in the Spanish Period of Settlement. 
 
 8. What territory was controlled by Spain? When did the Spanish 
 
 Period begin and end? . 
 
■ HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI ii 
 
 Q. Why did settlers move across the Mississippi to settle in Missouri? 
 
 10. Tell about the Spanish policy in America. 
 
 11. Why was the Louisiana territory transferred from Spain to France 
 
 and to the United States? When? 
 
 12. How was the Louisiana territory divided? How was it governed? 
 
 13. How did the Westward Movement affect Missouri? 
 
 14. What were the chief vocations of the settlers? 
 
 TERRITORIAL PERIOD, 1804 1820 
 
 Governors. When the United States took possession of 
 Louisiana, March g, 1804, a military government was estab- 
 lished with Major Stoddard as Lieutenant-Governor in charge 
 of the upper part of the territory. Congress passed an act, 
 March 26, 1804, by which Louisiana was divided into two 
 parts: The territory of New Orleans, and the district of Louisi- 
 ana. The dividing line was the parallel t^;^ north latitude, the 
 present southern boundary line of Arkansas. By the same act 
 the district of Louisiana was attached to the territory of Indiana, 
 and Governor William Henry Harrison of Indiana succeeded 
 Major Stoddard. This arrangement was very unsatisfactory 
 to the people of the district, who wanted a territorial govern- 
 ment of their own. Congress passed an act March 3, 1805, 
 making the district of Louisiana a territory of the first, or low- 
 est, class. General James Wilkinson was appointed governor 
 and served two years. He was succeeded by Governor Meri- 
 wether Lewis of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition. (See 
 page 265.) After Lewis's death in 1809, Benjamin Howard of 
 Kentucky served until 181 2 when he resigned to serve as a 
 general in the war with England. William Clark, the other 
 leader of the Lewis-Clark expedition, became governor and 
 served until the organization of the state government in 1820. 
 
 Government. The territorial government was changed from 
 a first to second class in 181 2, and at the same time the name 
 of the territory was changed from Louisiana to Missouri. The 
 legislative power was vested in a General Assembly which con- 
 sisted of a House of Representatives elected by the people and 
 
12 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 a council of nine members chosen by the president from a list 
 of eighteen persons nominated by the House of Representatives. 
 This act also gave Missouri a delegate in Congress and author- 
 ized the formation of counties. In 1816 the territory was 
 raised from the second class to the third class. This act made 
 the council elective. On January 8, 18 18, (Jackson day) the 
 first petition asking for statehood was presented to Congress. 
 Other petitions were presented later, but action by Congress 
 was delayed for more than a year. Finally when the House was 
 considering the Missouri enabling act, February 15, 18 19, Tal- 
 madge of New York introduced his famous amendment pro- 
 viding for the gradual abolition of slavery in Missouri. This 
 precipitated the slavery struggle on the nation and kept Mis- 
 souri out of the Union for more than two years. The contest 
 was finally ended by the Missouri Compromise by which Mis- 
 souri was admitted to the Union August 10, 182 1. 
 
 In the meantime Missouri had adopted a constitution under 
 the authority of the enabling act passed March 6, 1820. The 
 constitution was drafted and adopted by a convention called for 
 that purpose, and was put into operation immediately, without 
 being submitted to the people. An election authorized by the 
 constitution was called by David Barton, president of the con- 
 vention. At this election, held August 28, 1820, a governor, 
 representative to Congress, state senators and representatives, 
 and county officials, were elected. The General Assembly met 
 and the state government was formally organized September 
 18, 1820. 
 
 Emigration and Population. Missouri was the central goal 
 toward which the great Westward Movement, described on 
 pages 264 to 273, was directed. The natural highway to the 
 west was down the Ohio, up the Mississippi, and then up the 
 Missouri. The first great movement of people to Missouri 
 came by this route from Kentucky and Tennessee, sometimes 
 from Virginia and North Carolina. . Thus the source of Missouri's 
 population was chiefly southern. These emigrants brought with 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 13 
 
 them their property, including live stock and slaves. Their 
 destination was usually the rich Boonslick country on the 
 Missouri, or the rich land in the upper Mississippi valley. The 
 magnitude of the movement is shown by the rapid increase in 
 population. At the beginning of the territorial period, 1804, 
 the population was about 10,000. In 1810 it was 20,000, and 
 the census of 1820 shows 66,586, an increase of more than 
 56,000 in sixteen years. The nuntber of organized counties 
 had increased from five in 181 2 to fifteen in 1820. 
 
 Economic Life. Many of the people who came to Missouri 
 brought some money with them. All came to make homes, the 
 first object being to secure land. Government land could be 
 obtained by paying one fourth of the purchase price ($2 an acre) 
 down. The settlers brought live stock and all kinds of seeds, 
 grafts, and cuttings for starting orchards and raising grain and 
 vegetables. The famous Stark nurseries were started in 1816 
 by Judge James Stark, who carried on horseback from Bour- 
 bon County, Kentucky, the scions with which to start his nursery. 
 
 The great majority of the people were engaged in agriculture. 
 Food was plentiful. Any amount of game could be obtained 
 with little effort, and honey in abundance could be had by 
 cutting bee trees. The fur trade and the mining industry de- 
 veloped rapidly. Missouri lead enabled Jackson to win the 
 battle of New Orleans. The fur trade brought as high as 
 $200,000 a year into the territory. Two banks were established: 
 the Bank of St. Louis in 1816, and the territorial bank of Mis- 
 souri in 181 7. Both banks issued more paper money than it 
 was possible to redeem, and both failed in the financial crisis 
 of 1819. These failures caused much loss to the people, and 
 many Missourians became opposed to banks. 
 
 The Beginnings of Social Organizations. The social life of the 
 people was very simple. Log rollings, house raisings, and husking 
 bees were the chief social gatherings. Occasionally people had 
 opportunity to go to church when some itinerant preacher came 
 through the community. Courage and physical strength and 
 
14 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 skill were as necessary among professional men, where differences 
 of opinion were settled by the duel, as among the ignorant river 
 men and miners, who settled their disputes by brutal fist fights. 
 The Catholic church was still the strongest church in the 
 Territory, but Protestant churches of all the leading denomi- 
 nations were organized. Private schools were also started; 
 provisions for a public school system in St. Louis were made in 
 1817. The first newspaper, the Gazette, now the St. Louis 
 Republic, was founded in 1808. In 1820 there were five news- 
 papers published in the territory. 
 
 PIONEER STATEHOOD: THE FIRST CONSTITUTION 1820-1845 
 
 The State Government. The state government was organ- 
 ized in September, 1820. Alexander McNair, the newly elected 
 governor, took over the duties of his office; two Senators, David 
 Barton and Thomas H. Benton, were elected and went to Wash- 
 ington; and people expected the state to be admitted imme- 
 diately. 
 
 However, the Missouri Constitution contained a clause which 
 required the General Assembly to pass a law to "prevent free 
 negroes and mulattoes from coming to and settling within the 
 state." Opponents of the admission of Missouri as a slave 
 state objected to the state constitution on the grounds that 
 this clause was in conflict with the Federal Constitution which 
 guaranteed to "the citizens of each state the privileges and 
 immunities of the citizens of the several states." Another long 
 debate in Congress finally ended in a second compromise. By 
 the terms of this arrangement Missouri was to be admitted by 
 proclamation of the President when her General Assembly had 
 passed a solemn public act repealing the clause concerning the 
 exclusion of free negroes. The General Assembly passed the 
 required act, and President Monroe issued the proclamation 
 admitting the state August 10, 182 1. Thus the local govern- 
 ments, both state and county, were organized and doing their 
 work for ten months before the state was admitted to the Union. 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 15 
 
 The constitution was framed, and the state government or- 
 ganized at St. Louis. But the constitution provided that St. 
 Charles should be the temporary capital for six years, after 
 which it should be located on the Missouri river within forty 
 miles of the mouth of the Osage river. A capital commission 
 was appointed which selected the present site of Jefferson City 
 for the capital. A capitol building was erected and the seat of 
 government moved from St. Charles to Jefferson City in 1826. 
 
 Prosperity and Rapid Development. The period from 1820 
 to ?845 was essentially a pioneer period. The life of the aver- 
 age Missourian was similar to life in the territorial period. 
 Steam navigation opened up the world markets to Missouri, 
 and surplus agricultural products could be sold at some profit. 
 The people became more and more prosperous and were begin- 
 ning to obtain many of the comforts and luxuries of civilization 
 when the nation wide panic of 1837 ruined the markets. Men 
 who had plenty of grain and stock could not raise money to 
 meet their obligations. For the next six or seven years the 
 papers were full of notices of bankruptcy. 
 
 Although the panic of 1837 brought hard times and caused 
 many individual failures, it did not prevent the rapid devel- 
 opment of the state. This development is indicated by the 
 increase in population and the increase in the number of 
 counties. The population in 1820 was 66,586. By 1830 it 
 had more than doubled and was 140,455. Between 1830 and 
 1840 it doubled again and was 383,702 at the later date. In 
 1844 according to a state census the state contained 511,937 
 people. The increase in the number of counties was equally 
 surprising. In 1820 there were fifteen counties. By 1845 the 
 number had increased to ninety-six. (See maps, pages 16 and 17.) 
 
 Along with the rapid increase in population and county 
 organization, great progress was made in economic, political, 
 and cultural life. Missouri continued to lead in the production 
 of lead and furs, and the Sante Fe trade carried on across the 
 plains brought into the state thousands of dollars of much 
 
i6 
 
 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 needed silver every year. Political parties became well organ- 
 ized during the period. Progress was made in the development 
 of religious and fraternal institutions. Statewide organizations 
 were perfected by the Catholics in 1826, the Presbyterians in 
 
 MISSOURI 
 in 1821 
 
 S CALE OF MILES 
 10 -M JO i) O'O 
 
 ■" Boundaries proposed by 
 the Territorial Legislature 
 a Attached to Boone 
 b Unattached Territory 
 c Attached to Callaway 
 
 
 1832, the Baptists in 1834, the Episcopal church in 1840, the 
 South Methodists in 1845. The Masonic Grand Lodge was 
 organized in 182 1 and the Odd Fellows in 1834. In education 
 the beginnings were made. Many private academies were 
 organized. Chief among these was St. Louis College, now St. 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 
 
 17 
 
 Louis University, in 1828. By 1850, five years after the close 
 of the period, there were 204 academies in the state having an 
 attendance of more than 8000 students. The constitution made 
 provision for a system of public education. Legislation re- 
 quired to organize and put in operation an elementary public 
 school system was provided in 1839, but the growth of the 
 
 Missouri Counties in 1845 
 
 system was slow. In 1839 legislation was passed providing for 
 a state university. The University was located at Columbia 
 in Boone County. 
 
 The Platte Purchase. The original western boundary of 
 Missouri was a north-south line passing through the mouth of 
 the Kaw river. This left an exceedingly rich body of land be- 
 tween the western boundary of the state and the Missouri 
 River. In the early thirties the settlers became anxious to ob- 
 tain these rich lands. They petitioned Congress to add this 
 
i8 
 
 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 section to the state. Although according to the Missouri Com- 
 promise this was free territory, Congress passed the necessary 
 legislation and Missouri attained her full size in 1836. 
 
 Benton and the Currency Question. Probably tlie greatest 
 statesman Missouri has produced is Thomas H. Benton. 
 
 Benton was elected to the 
 Senate after a violent con- 
 test in 1820 and served 
 continuously in that body 
 for thirty years. He thor- 
 oughly studied all ques- 
 tions which came before 
 the Senate, but he be- 
 lieved the currency c|ues- 
 tion to be of more vital im- 
 portance than any other. 
 He had been a director in 
 the Territorial Bank of 
 Missouri when it failed in 
 18 1 9. He had seen and 
 felt the evil effects of an 
 Thomas h. Benton unsound currency. He 
 
 Missouri's best known statesman. He was was oppOSed tO giving 
 United States Senator for thirty years, 1820 ^anks the power tO issue 
 to 1850. 
 
 paper money. He was 
 called "Old Bullion" because he fought the issue of paper 
 money and thought all money should be hard money. 
 
 The constitution gave the General Assembly the power to 
 charter one bank in the state. For twenty years after Missouri 
 became a state Benton's will was law in Missouri politics, and 
 for seventeen of those twenty years the Missouri General 
 Assembly refused to exercise the power conferred upon it to 
 charter a bank. Finally in 1837 the Bank of Missouri was 
 chartered, but it was a bank largely after Benton's idea of 
 what a bank should be. It could not issue notes of a denomina- 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 19 
 
 tion lower than ten dollars, and its charter was safeguarded so 
 that it could not suspend specie payment. Benton's friends in 
 the General Assembly, on his advice, attempted to prevent the 
 circulation of paper money of small denomination by passing a 
 law makmg the receiving or passing of such money criminal 
 action. Although this law was finally passed in 1842, after 
 having been pushed by the Benton men for four years, most of 
 the penal clauses had been removed. 
 
 The Constitution of 1845. When the Missouri constitution 
 was made in 1820, it doubtless represented fairly well the ideas 
 of the people on the government of the state. There were, how- 
 ever, several clauses which soon became unpopular, and there 
 was a demand for a new constitution. For example, all judges 
 were appointed by the governor and served for life; and the 
 constitution gave one bank a monopoly of the banking business 
 of the state. Also, the constitution provided that every county 
 should have at least one representative in the lower house of 
 the General Assembly, but that the whole number of repre- 
 sentatives should never exceed one hundred. In 1844 there 
 were 96 counties. As it took 96 representatives to give these 
 counties one each there were only four left to give the populous 
 counties. This caused great inequality of representation. 
 
 To remedy these and other defects a constitutional conven- 
 tion was called in 1845. This convention wrote a new constitu- 
 tion, which was submitted to the people but was rejected by a 
 majority of about 10,000. One of the chief objections to the 
 new constitution was that it solved the problem of representa- 
 tion by creating legislative districts and did away with county 
 representation. After the rejection of the new constitution, the 
 old one was amended so as to remedy the defects mentioned 
 above. Judges were made elective. The Imiitation on the 
 number of representatives was removed. And the section on 
 banking was changed so that the General Assembly could 
 charter as many state banks as the people desired. 
 
20 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE: THE AMENDED CONSTITUTION, 
 
 1845-1865 
 
 The Passing of Benton. In 1846 the Wilmot Proviso made 
 the exclusion of slavery from the territories the paramount 
 political question of the day. (See pages 311, 315, and 317.) 
 Calhoun and the extreme South declared such restriction un- 
 constitutional. The Missouri General Assembly in 1847 in- 
 structed the Missouri Senators and requested the Missouri 
 Representatives to work for the extension of the Missouri 
 Compromise to the Pacific. This instruction was to Benton's 
 liking. In 1849 the General Assembly passed the Jackson Reso- 
 lutions, named for C. F. Jackson, chairman of the Senate 
 committee which reported them. These resolutions took the 
 position advocated by Calhoun, that Congress had no power 
 to prohibit slavery in the territories. They also instructed the 
 Senators and requested the Representatives to vote according 
 to their principles. The resolutions had been pushed through 
 the General Assembly by men who had opposed Benton on 
 other issues in 1844, and were clearly intended to force Benton 
 into a fight for his seat in the Senate. 
 
 Benton declared the resolutions to be the result of a plot against 
 him, that their purpose was not understood by most of the 
 men who voted for them, and that they did not represent the 
 sentiment of the state. He appealed to the people in the most 
 vindictive and violent campaign in the history of the state. 
 The Democratic party was divided into Benton and anti-Benton 
 factions and finally the anti-Benton Democrats went over to the 
 Whigs and elected Henry S. Geyer to succeed Benton. This did 
 not end the contest. Four years later when the term of Senator 
 Atchison, who had been an original anti-Benton man, expired, 
 Benton entered the race against him. Another vindictive cam- 
 paign followed, and the party was again divided. Neither faction 
 secured a majority and as neither would go over to the Whigs, 
 no Senator was elected, and Missouri had only one Senator from 
 1854 to 1856. Finally Benton ran for Governor in 1856. He 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 21 
 
 made a vigorous statewide campaign, but for the first time ran 
 third in the race. This ended his efforts in politics. He retired 
 to his home in Washington and spent the remainder of his life 
 in literary work. He died in 1858 at the age of 76. 
 
 Railroad Construction. The agitation for the construction 
 of railroads in Missouri was begun in 1836. A convention was 
 held in St. Louis. The legislature was asked to charter a num- 
 ber of lines and aid in their construction. The legislature 
 readily chartered the desired lines, but refused to grant any 
 aid. Many of the legislatures of other western states did grant 
 aid to railroads at this time. John F. Darby, a Whig senator 
 from St. Louis, declared in his "Personal Recollections" that 
 Thomas H. Benton was to blame, as he advised against it. At 
 any rate Missouri escaped the fate of other western states. 
 Most of them voted bonds for railroads about this time and 
 acquired a large indebtedness without getting any railroads. 
 
 The agitation was renewed in 1850. This time the state did 
 adopt the policy of aiding the construction of railroads. Be- 
 tween 1850 and i860 the state guaranteed railroad bonds to 
 the amount of $24,950,000. During this period 715 miles of 
 railroad were constructed. The Hannibal & St. Joe was com- 
 pleted, the Missouri Pacific was built from St. Louis to Sedalia, 
 and the St. Louis and Iron Mountain was built as far as Pilot 
 Knob. The Civil War stopped railroad construction. The 
 roads failed to keep their interest paid, and the state was com- 
 pelled to take the roads for the debt. The original debt with 
 interest amounted to more than $30,000,000. The state sold 
 the roads for a comparatively small sum. After this transaction, 
 private individuals owned the roads and the state owed the 
 construction bills. 
 
 Repeal of the Missouri Compromise and Border Warfare. 
 The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, described on pages 
 320 to 329, transferred the slavery conflict from Congress to 
 Kansas and made IMissouri the champion of the South in the 
 struggle. The tide of emigration coming into Missouri had 
 
22 
 
 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 pushed up the Missouri river to the western border of the state. 
 There the westward movement, checked by the United States 
 government, for the land to the west was unorganized and not 
 open to settlers, had spread out over four or five counties on 
 either side of the river. Sonae of these counties were the most 
 populous counties of the state. The great majority of the 
 
 people were of Southern 
 birth or parentage, and 
 many of them owned 
 slaves. These men be- 
 lieved that they had a 
 better right to the rich 
 lands just across the 
 border than the inhabi- 
 tants of Massachusetts. 
 When the settlers from 
 the North began coming 
 to Kansas in great num- 
 bers, many of them sent 
 out by the Emigrant Aid 
 Society, the Missourians 
 became alarmed. They 
 feared Kansas would be 
 voted free by these emi- 
 grants, and that would 
 forever prevent them from 
 moving to the new state 
 with their slaves. Blue Lodges were organized all over the 
 western part of the state. Members of these organizations 
 followed their leaders, David R. Atchison and B. F. String- 
 fellow, into Kansas and voted at the elections. 
 
 After a time the free state men and the Missourians came to 
 blows. Border raids and warfare became common and lasted well 
 into the Civil War. Missouri suffered from these border raids 
 more than Kansas, because she had more to lose. The western 
 
 Sterling Price 
 
 General in the Mexican War and Governor of 
 Missouri from 1852 to 1856. He was famous 
 also as the leader of Missouri troops in the 
 Confederate Army. 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 
 
 23 
 
 counties had been settled for twenty or thirty years, and the 
 people had much more property than the newcomers in Kansas. 
 In 1863 General Ewing, commander of the western district of 
 Missouri, issued his famous General Order No. 11. This order 
 required all the inhabitants to move from the border counties 
 of Jackson, Cass, Bates and Vernon, except those living in the 
 
 Missouri Counties in i860 
 
 larger towns. In a short time the prairie fires made these coun- 
 ties a complete wilderness, and they remained so until after the 
 close of the war. The order put an end to Border warfare, but 
 was even more destructive than the raids had been. 
 
 The Election of 1860. The question of slavery was becom- 
 ing more and more the dominant question in national politics 
 and at times became the chief issue in state contests. The 
 Benton- Jackson contest was an example of this kind. Again 
 
24 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 in i860 the slavery issue overshadowed every other in Missouri 
 as in the nation. (See page 329.) There were three possible 
 positions — the extreme southern, the moderate, and the ex- 
 treme northern. Unfortunately the moderate party was usually 
 divided. Thus the Benton Democrats and the Whigs in the 
 contest of 1849 were agreed on the slavery question, both tak- 
 ing the moderate viewpoint. But C. F. Jackson, at the head 
 of a determined minority, was able to retire Benton. In the 
 election of i860 there was a similar division of the people who 
 favored moderation. Douglas was supported by the moder- 
 ate Democrats, and Bell was supported by those who had 
 formerly been Whigs. The uncompromising advocate of slavery 
 extension voted for Breckinridge, and the uncompromising anti- 
 slavery man voted for Lincoln. The vote in Missouri for Doug- 
 las was 58,801; for Bell 58,372; for Breckinridge 31,317; and 
 for Lincoln 17,028. To get the real sentiment of Missouri on 
 the slavery question, the vote of Douglas and Bell should be 
 added. This would give the moderate element 117,173 votes, 
 more than twice the strength of the other two parties combined. 
 The same sentiment was clearly expressed in the election of 
 members of the convention in February, 1861, when about 
 three fourths of the voters favored the Union candidates and 
 the total majority for the Union was 80,000. 
 
 The Convention. Governor C. F, Jackson, who had been 
 elected on the Douglas ticket, but who favored secession, recom- 
 mended that the General Assembly call a convention to con- 
 sider the relations between the United States and the State of 
 Missouri. The General Assembly passed the act calling the 
 convention January 18, 1861. The Convention was composed 
 largely of Union men and met in Jefferson City February 28, 
 organized, and adjourned to meet in St. Louis March 4. 
 Here the Convention adopted a resolution which declared that, 
 "The true position for Missouri to assume is that of a state 
 whose interests are bound up in the maintenance of the Union, 
 and whose kind feelings and strong sympathies are with the 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 25 
 
 people of the Southern States." This expresses well the atti- 
 tude of Missouri. The Convention then provided for an execu- 
 tive committee with power to call the Convention together 
 again, should occasion for such action arise, and adjourned. 
 
 Later in the year, after Governor Jackson, who had espoused 
 the cause of the South, had been driven from the state by the 
 Union forces under General Lyon, this executive committee 
 called the convention together. That body assumed the re- 
 sponsibility for the government of the state and provided a 
 provisional government with Hamilton R. Gamble for governor. 
 This provisional government ruled the state until the people 
 elected a governor and state officers at the general election in 
 1864. Governor Gamble and a majority of the members of 
 the Convention were conservative Union men. They repre- 
 sented the great moderate element in Missouri. The Conven- 
 tion passed a resolution requiring all officials to take an oath 
 of loyalty to the United States and to the provisional govern- 
 ment of Ihe state. Those who refused to do so were replaced 
 by loyal men. An oath of loyalty was also required of all voters. 
 Governor Gamble organized a state militia and assumed the 
 task of keeping order in the state. This relieved the people 
 of the necessity of living under martial law administered by the 
 Federal army. 
 
 The Problem of the Emancipation of Slaves. The great 
 question in Missouri politics was the problem of emancipation 
 of the slaves. President Lincoln's proclamation had not inter- 
 fered with slavery in the border states that had not left the 
 Union. In Missouri slaves could escape, and there was no 
 authority to force them to return to their masters. The 
 sentiment for legal aboHtion of slavery grew rapidly. But 
 the moderates, Governor Gamble, and a majority of the Con- 
 vention, favored gradual emancipation, while the Radicals de- 
 sired immediate emancipation. A large majority of the General 
 Assembly, elected in 1862, favored emancipation but the mem- 
 bers were divided, some being for gradual and some for imme- 
 
26 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 diate emancipation. At any rate the General Assembly did 
 not have the power to abolish slavery, as that required a con- 
 stitutional amendment. Governor Gamble concluded that the 
 Convention, as it represented the people in a more fundamental 
 way than the General Assembly, did have such power, and he 
 called it together in 1863 and recommended that it pass a 
 gradual emancipation act. The Convention passed such an 
 act and adjourned sine die on July i, 1863. 
 
 The Radicals, however, were not satisfied and advocated a 
 constitutional convention to abolish slavery. The radical senti- 
 ment in the state grew very fast, and the Radicals elected the 
 Governor and a large majority of the members of the General 
 Assembly in 1864. At the same election the people voted to 
 hold a constitutional convention. The Radicals elected a large 
 majority of the delegates to the constitutional convention, 
 which met in St. Louis January 6, 1865. One of its first acts 
 was to pass a resolution providing for the immediate aboHtion 
 of slavery. 
 
 QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 
 
 1. When was the state government of Missouri organized? 
 
 2. What were the terms of admission of the state to the Union? 
 
 3. What was the Platte Purchase? 
 
 4. Who was "Old BuUion"? TeU about him. 
 
 5. What were some of the provisions of the Constitution of 1845? 
 
 6. What can you tell about the repeal of the Missouri Compromise and 
 
 border warfare? 
 
 7. What was the chief issue in the Election of i860? What was the real 
 
 sentiment of the state in Missouri? 
 
 8. What position did the state finally take in the question of Slavery? 
 
 THE PERIOD OF RECONSTRUCTION — THE DRAKE CONSTITUTION, 
 
 1865-1875 
 
 The Drake Constitution. Although the constitutional con- 
 vention of 1865 had been called for the purpose of amending 
 the constitution, its members decided that it had authority to 
 submit a new constitution to the voters of the state. The Con- 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 
 
 27 
 
 vention drew up a much more modern constitution than the 
 constitution of 1820. Its provisions concerning education, 
 corporations, and the general organization of the government 
 were excellent. But the good points of the constitution were 
 so completely overshadowed by the test oath required of voters 
 and professional men, that the very name Drake Constitution 
 became so odious to Missourians that it was replaced by an- 
 other constitution in 1875 
 in spite of the fact that 
 the test oath had been 
 abolished by amendment. 
 The Convention was 
 dominated by the Radicals, 
 and it was their intention 
 to keep the government of 
 the state entirely in their 
 hands. To do this the 
 test oath was made so 
 strict that no one could 
 take it except those who 
 had at all times been 
 unconditional Union men 
 and even some of these 
 were barred. Those who 
 could not take the oath 
 were barred from voting, 
 holding ofhce, teaching, 
 preaching, and the practice of law. The convention provided 
 that no one could vote on the adoption of the constitution 
 except those who could take the oath in the constitution. 
 Even then it was adopted by a very small majority. The 
 vote for the constitution was 43^670 and the vote against it 
 was 41,808. Once adopted, this constitution served to keep 
 the radical Republican party in power until 1870. All of 
 the moderate party of 1862 and many of the unconditional 
 
 Frank P. Blair 
 A prominent Union man and friend of Presi- 
 dent Lincoln. He was largely responsible for 
 saving the Union in 1861. 
 
28 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 Union men, among them Frank P. Blair and John S. Phelps, 
 were bitterly opposed to the Drake Constitution on account of 
 the test oath. These men united in reorganizing the Demo- 
 cratic party in 1865. But at that time there was no chance of 
 success for the Democratic party either in the state or nation. 
 
 The Rise of the Liberal Republican Party. Two factions 
 soon appeared in the Republican party. As early as 1866 many 
 Republicans believed that the harsh test oath should be abol- 
 ished as soon as possible. These were called Liberals. The 
 faction which defended the test oath was called Radical. Both 
 factions believed that the Democratic party, if in power in the 
 state, would pass laws for the control of negroes that would 
 practically reenslave the negro while leaving hun free in name. 
 The Liberals advocated repealing the test oath and giving the 
 negro the right of suffrage so that he could protect himself. 
 The Radicals believed in negro suffrage, but also believed in 
 the test oath. The common purpose of granting the negroes 
 the right of suffrage served for a few years to keep the two 
 factions together. In 1868 they elected Joseph W. McClurg, 
 a Radical, for governor. The next year Congress submitted the 
 Fifteenth Amendment to the National Constitution which made 
 the negroes legal voters. The Liberal faction of the Republican 
 party in Missouri now declared that there was no longer any 
 need for the test oath and began to favor a general amnesty 
 for all who were willing to take an oath of allegiance. 
 
 In 1870 there was a vigorous contest between the Liberals 
 and the Radicals for the control of the Republican State Con- 
 vention. The test of strength came on the adoption of the 
 resolution for the reenfranchisement of those who had taken 
 part in the late Rebellion. The Liberals controlled the resolu- 
 tions committee, and the majority report declared in favor of 
 a constitutional amendment providing for the removal of politi- 
 cal disabilities. A minority report made by the Radical mem- 
 bers of the committee declared in favor of reenfranchising those 
 who had taken part in the late Rebellion as soon as it could 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 29 
 
 be done with safety to the state, and favored the submission 
 of the question of a general amnesty to the people. The minor- 
 ity report was adopted, ayes 349, noes 342. Immediately Carl 
 Schurz, followed by 250 delegates, withdrew from the conven- 
 tion and nommated a Liberal Republican ticket with B. Gratz 
 Brown for governor. The Radicals nominated Governor 
 McClurg. The Democrats made no nominations for state 
 officers, but supported the Liberal Republican ticket. Brown 
 was elected by a majority of 41,038. The system of test oaths 
 for voters, office-holders, and professional men, was swept 
 away by constitutional amendments, which were adopted by 
 popular majorities rangmg from 105,000 to 130,000. 
 
 Missouri again a Leader in a National Movement. The ques- 
 tion of a general amnesty was not only a state, but also a na- 
 tional question, and the rise of the Liberal Republican party 
 in Missouri was closely watched by political leaders in all parts 
 of the nation. The success of the Liberals in 1870 in electing 
 Brown governor, gave rise to a national movement of the same 
 kind. In 1872 a National Liberal Republican Convention was 
 called, and Horace Greeley of New York nommated for Presi- 
 dent with B. Gratz Brown of Missouri for Vice President. This 
 ticket was endorsed by the National Democratic Convention. 
 The Liberal Republicans failed to get control of the national 
 government, but such was the sentiment created that four 
 years later President Hayes, a Republican, withdrew the Federal 
 soldiers from the South and left the affairs of each state in the 
 hands of its inhabitants. This was what the Liberals had 
 demanded. 
 
 Railroads and Indebtedness. Railroad construction had been 
 stopped by the Civil War. As soon as peace was restored, work 
 was pushed on the lines that had been partly constructed be- 
 fore the War. The Missouri Pacific was completed to Kansas 
 City in 1865, construction was resumed on the Iron Mountain, 
 the Southwest Branch (now the Frisco), and the Wabash. In 
 addition to these lines that had been started before the War 
 
30 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 other companies were formed. Many of the new companies, 
 however, were organized for the purpose of defrauding the 
 people instead of building railroads. Bonds were voted by- 
 many counties, cities, and townships. Some roads were built, 
 but in many cases the grading was begun, the bonds sold, and 
 the work stopped. The people owed the debt but had no rail- 
 roads. The courts upheld the legality of these bonds, and the 
 people were compelled to pay them or defy the Federal courts. 
 Most of the counties paid the fraudulent bonds, but some did 
 not, and in such counties a huge debt still hangs over the people. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
 ">•-» . .. 
 
 ^SB 
 
 
 *"i 
 
 ^H 
 
 y ^^'liniMr-'i 
 
 
 B 
 
 Hh 
 
 H^l 
 
 1 
 
 BBii? . 
 
 iiipB 
 
 ^^B^^ 
 
 2 
 
 ■'■" ■'■" 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 H|N^SiE| 
 
 ■■HI 
 
 KiRKSviLLE Normal School, First District Established in 1871 
 
 It has been estimated that fraudulent bonds to the amount of 
 $15,000,000 were in this way fastened upon the people of the 
 state. 
 
 The state debt, which was approximately $36,000,000 at the 
 close of the War was reduced very rapidly, and by 1869 was 
 only $21,500,000. About $6,000,000 of this reduction was 
 accomplished by selling the railroads which had failed to pay 
 their bonds and had become the property of the state. The 
 rate of taxation was high. With a population of about one and 
 one half million and an assessed valuation of about live hundred 
 milhon, the state of Missouri raised more money by direct taxa- 
 tion in 1867 than it did in 1910, with a population of nearly 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 
 
 31 
 
 three and one half miUion and an assessed valuation of more 
 than one and one-half billion, which represented a real value 
 estimated to be more than sLx billion. 
 
 Education. During the Civil War the school system broke 
 down, as there were no funds available. The school fund, 
 amounting to $578,967.96, was invested in bank stock and was 
 paying no dividends. After the War the General Assembly 
 adopted the policy of appropriating one fourth of the revenues 
 to the public schools. In March, 1867, $1,500,000 was set 
 aside out of money paid to the state by the United States gov- 
 
 New Administration Building, State Normal School, Warrensburg 
 
 ernment as a permanent school fund. Two years later $900,000 
 was added to the fund. By January, 1875, the school fund 
 amounted to $2,625,334 most of which was invested in United 
 States 6% bonds and Missouri 6% bonds. 
 
 Besides the liberal provisions made for elementary schools, 
 this period is also noted for the provisions made for Normal 
 Schools. The Kirksville and Warrensburg Normal Schools 
 were provided for in 1870, and the Cape Girardeau Normal 
 School was established in 1873. 
 
 The Constitutional Convention of 1875. The test oaths of 
 the Drake Constitution were so unpopular that both the Demo- 
 cratic and Liberal Republican parties promised in their plat- 
 
32 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 forms to call a constitutional convention. The objectionable 
 features of the Drake Constitution had been wiped out by the 
 six amendments adopted in 1870. Still, the Democratic party, 
 which obtained possession of the state government in 1872, 
 submitted the question of a constitutional convention to the 
 people in 1874. The resolution providing for the calling of a 
 convention was adopted by the small majority of 283 in a total 
 vote of 222,315. In the election of delegates the Democrats 
 secured sixty, the Republicans sk, and the Liberal Republicans 
 two members in the convention. This meant that the new 
 constitution was to be framed by the men who had suffered 
 most under the Drake Constitution. They were determined to 
 prevent a repetition of the abuses of the reconstruction period. 
 
 REACTION AND INDIVIDUALISM — THE CONSTITUTION OF 1875 
 
 The Present Constitution. The constitution written by the 
 convention of 1875, under which Missouri is still governed, has 
 at least three distinctive features. First, it has one of the most 
 extensive bill of rights ever written into a constitution. The 
 constitutional checks on courts were intended to prevent for 
 all future time the arbitrary rulings by courts which had so 
 often marked reconstruction judicial proceedings during the 
 preceding period. These restrictions and checks, however, 
 have resulted many times in the defeat of justice through 
 delay, and it is now practically impossible for our Supreme 
 Court to keep its docket up to date. Second, the abuse of the 
 taxing power by the various local governments (school districts, 
 townships, cities, and counties) had involved communities in 
 such heavy debts (often fraudulent) that the convention placed 
 very drastic limitations upon the taxing and bonding power of 
 all local governments from the school district to the state, 
 inclusive. This was before the day of electric railways, electric 
 lights, and telephones, and municipal ownership of public utili- 
 ties was not a question to be considered because there were few 
 pubUc utilities. Many people' think that the drastic limita- 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI t,3 
 
 tions on the bonding and taxing power of our cities and school 
 districts have hindered their development and have made 
 very difficult the task of public education. Third, the conserva- 
 tive nature of our constitution is indicated by its similarity to 
 the constitution of 1820. A great many sections are copied 
 word for word from the first constitution, and a great many 
 others have only such changes as were made necessary by the 
 results of the War. 
 
 Missouri Politics Since 1875. The causes which made the 
 Democratic party victorious in 1872 kept it victorious by safe 
 majorities until 1904, except in the election of 1894 when the 
 Republicans elected the State Superintendent of Public Schools. 
 During this period the issues were usually those that had grown 
 out of the Civil War. Men turned their eyes to the past rather 
 than to the present or to the future. During the later part of 
 the period new issues began to become miportant. Free silver 
 found its greatest champion in Richard P. Bland, Congressman 
 from Missouri for a quarter of a century. The Populists, with 
 their platform for free silver and governmental regulation of 
 railroads and corporations, began to make formidable inroads 
 upon both old parties. The dissatisfied elements were tem- 
 porarily united with the Democratic party in 1896 on the free 
 silver issue, and Bryan carried the state by more than fifty 
 thousand. Eight years later the Missouri voter showed his 
 independence by giving Roosevelt, the Republican candidate 
 for President, a majority of 25,137 and Folk, the Democratic 
 candidate for Governor, a majority of 30,100. From 1904 until 
 the split in the Republican party in 191 2, Missouri was a doubt- 
 ful state. 
 
 During this period Missouri has produced many men who 
 have won a national reputation. Probably two of the best 
 known and most admired of these Missourians are Richard P. 
 Bland, the apostle of free silver from 1873 until his death in 
 1900, and Senator F. M. Cockrell, for thirty years one of the 
 most conscientious and hardworking members of the United 
 
34 
 
 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 States Senate. Senator Cockrell was elected to the United 
 States Senate in the Benton line of senators in 1876. Like that 
 distinguished Missourian, he served in the Senate for thirty 
 years and was considered an authority in that body on any 
 
 question requiring general 
 infomiation. 
 
 Individualistic Progress. 
 The present period has 
 been one marked by the 
 rapid progress of individ- 
 uals. Great fortunes have 
 been amassed rapidly. 
 Missouri now has many 
 wealthy men, and corpora- 
 tions have flourished. The 
 constitutional limitations 
 on the taxing and bond- 
 ing power of cities have 
 made it difficult for them 
 to provide their own water 
 works, lighting plants, and 
 street car lines. Corpora- 
 tions have supplied these 
 modern necessities, and 
 in doing so have made 
 millions of dollars in profits 
 for their stockholders. In 
 the last few years there has been a marked tendency toward 
 municipal ownership of public utilities, but there is httle chance 
 for much real progress in that direction so long as the state has 
 its present constitution. In 1913 the General Assembly created 
 a Public Utilities Commission and gave it drastic powers for 
 regulating the activities of these corporations. 
 
 State Finances. The indebtedness of the state, which was 
 about $30,000,000 in 1865, had been reduced to about $15,000,- 
 
 Francis M. Cockrell 
 
 The second United States Senator from 
 Missouri to serve thirty years. He was re- 
 tired by the Republican landslide of 1904. 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 35 
 
 000 in 1875. This indebtedness was gradually reduced until 
 1Q02, when the remaining debt consisted of state bonds held by 
 the State Board of Education as school and seminary funds 
 bearing 6% interest. By a constitutional amendment these 
 bonds were converted into certificates of indebtedness which 
 could not be paid, but continue to bear interest indefinitely. The 
 result of this arrangement was the mimediate reduction of the 
 state interest tax from about $1,000,000 to about $250,000, 
 which was all that was needed to pay the interest on the cer- 
 tificates of indebtedness. The payment of the principal, it 
 was claimed, was not desirable as any other investment that 
 could have been made at the time would have reduced the 
 annual smn available for educational purposes by more than 
 $100,000. 
 
 As modern life becomes more and more cooperative, its 
 activities must be more and more supervised by state officials 
 and commissions, if not carried on by state institutions. This 
 increase in state responsibilities has necessitated increased state 
 expenditures for education, care of the unfortunate, sanitation 
 and prevention of disease, regulation of business, inspection, etc., 
 until it became more and more difficult to make the revenue pos- 
 sible under the constitutional Imiitation of fifteen cents on the 
 hundred dollars assessed valuation, meet the necessary expendi- 
 tures. The assessed valuation in 1875 was $556,444,456. This 
 gradually increased until in 1914 it was $1,622,332,838. For 
 many years people generally have recognized that the actual 
 property valuation of the state has increased much faster than 
 the assessed valuation. Governor Hadley (1908-12) proposed 
 several new methods of taxation, such as corporation taxes, 
 inheritance tax, etc., but the majority of the General Assembly 
 did not belong to the political party to which Mr. Hadley be- 
 longed and little was accomplished. Mr. Hadley also tried to 
 get uniform action of county assessors in raising the assessed 
 valuation to the actual valuation. He failed in this also. Dur- 
 ing the next four years the lack of sufticient revenue became 
 
36 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 more and more apparent, until the state was about $2,000,000 
 in debt at the end of 1916. 
 
 Governor Gardner began his administration January i, 1916, 
 with the purpose of solving the financial difficulties of the state. 
 He recommended a number of revenue measures to the General 
 Assembly. Most of these were passed and are now producing 
 added revenue. He also recommended a law providing a tax 
 commission with adequate powers. This commission tried to 
 secure the assessment of property at about its actual value. As 
 a result the assessed valuation was more than doubled. The 
 Board of Equalization, however, reduced this valuation to 
 about the former assessed valuation. The question of taxation 
 remains one of the most important problems which the state 
 government has to solve. 
 
 Education. The constitution of 1S75 contained liberal pro- 
 visions for education. At that time the schools of the state 
 had not recovered from the effects of the Civil War. Very few 
 of the teachers had received any special training, as the three 
 Normal Schools had just been established, and had scarcely 
 commenced to prepare teachers. The length of the school 
 temi was usually only three or four months. Although each 
 county had a school commissioner, his activities were confined 
 to granting certificates to teach and making statistical reports. 
 He received no salary and but few fees. The early part of the 
 period, therefore, was one of agitation for better teachers and 
 better school organization. State Superintendents R. D. Shan- 
 non, 1875-1882, and W. E. Coleman, 1882-1890, rendered 
 valuable service in this work. The standard for teachers was 
 gradually raised, teachers were compelled to attend County 
 Institutes, approved summer schools were established, and 
 public high schools were provided by the Boards of Education 
 in many cities. A system of state inspection and approval for 
 high schools has raised the standard of work done and increased 
 the number of high schools until in 191 6 there were 535. 
 
 The ofhce of County School Commissioner was changed to 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 37 
 
 County Superintendent, and now a trained educator in each 
 county devotes his entire time to the supervision of the schools. 
 Provisions have been made for consoHdated rural high schools and 
 many such schools have been established. Rural schools are 
 inspected by a state official and, if they meet certain stand- 
 ards, given approval. Probably the greatest piece of con- 
 structive work for the betterment of rural education ever 
 undertaken in the state is now (1918) nearing completion. It 
 is an exhaustive rural school survey by the leading educators of 
 the state, directed by the State Superintendent of Schools. The 
 interest in higher education has grown, until the annual enroll- 
 ment (1916) has reached about 4000 in the State University 
 and about 8000 in the live Normal Schools. 
 
 QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 
 
 1. Tell about the Drake Constitution. Who could vote in the Conven- 
 
 tion which adopted it? How long was this constitution in force? 
 
 2. When was the present constitution adopted? What provisions were 
 
 made in it? 
 
 HOW THE STATE IS GOVERNED 
 
 Powers of the State. As America was settled, a number of 
 governments known as colonial governments were organized. 
 The Declaration of Independence declared, "These united 
 colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent 
 states." When the United States Constitution was adopted 
 these states gave up certain powers, such as the power to de- 
 clare war, make peace, coin money, to the United States govern- 
 ment. All powers, however, not delegated by the United States 
 Constitution to the United States government or prohibited 
 to the states, belong to the state. Thus the state government 
 touches the citizens in a great many ways. As we learn more 
 and more to cooperate, we are continually finding many things 
 that we can do together as groups better than we can do them 
 as individuals. The state government is the agency that pro- 
 
o 
 
 8 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 vides for, controls, and regulates all this group activity. In 
 perfomiing this function, the state creates counties, townships, 
 cities, villages, school districts, and many private corporations. 
 
 The Constitution. Missouri has had three constitutions. 
 The present constitution was adopted in 1875 ^t the close of 
 the reconstruction period. The convention which framed the 
 constitution was composed almost entirely of the men who had 
 belonged to the minority party during the reconstruction period. 
 They were determined to prevent for the future the high taxes, 
 abuse of the bonding power, and tyranny of the courts^ all of 
 which had been prominent features of the days of reconstruc- 
 tion. They therefore placed drastic limitations on the tax- 
 ing power of the states and all its local subdivisions, required 
 a two-thirds' vote to legalize any bond issue, and adopted an 
 extensive and detailed bill of rights. The constitution, like 
 that of the United States, provides for an executive, a legisla- 
 tive, and a judicial branch of government. 
 
 The Executive Department. The Governor is the chief 
 executive of the state. He must be at least thirty-five years of 
 age, a citizen of the United States for ten years, and a resident 
 of the state for seven years. He is elected for a term of four 
 years, receives a salary of $5,000 a year, and cannot be reelected 
 to succeed himself. He advises the legislature, has the power 
 to call extra sessions, and can veto any bill. The influence of 
 the governor on legislative action is becoming more and more 
 marked. The governor also has power to reprieve, commute 
 sentences, or pardon persons convicted of a crime by the state 
 courts. The governor is commander-in-chief of the militia, 
 and his chief duty is to execute the laws of the state. 
 
 In the duty of executing the law, he is aided by a Secretary 
 of State, who keeps the records of the General Assembly and a 
 record of the official acts of the governor; the State Auditor, 
 who keeps the accounts of the state; a State Treasurer, who 
 keeps and pays out the money of the state ; an Attorney General, 
 who is the legal adviser of the state officials and represents the 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 
 
 39 
 
40 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 state in important cases in the courts; and a Superintendent 
 of Public Schools, who has general supervision of the schools of 
 the state. Each of these officers receives a salary of $3,000 a 
 year, and each is allowed a number of assistants and clerks. 
 
 The General Assembly. The General Assembly is composed 
 of two houses: the Senate and House of Representatives. The 
 Senate has thirty-four members, elected from political divisions 
 of the state, usually containing several counties, and known 
 as senatorial districts. A state senator must be a citizen and a 
 voter, thirty years of age, a resident for one year in the dis- 
 trict, and must have paid a state and county tax during the 
 year preceding his election. The House of Representatives 
 contains 142 members. Each county has at least one repre- 
 sentative. The apportionment of representatives is arranged 
 so that the country population has about twice the representa- 
 tion that the city population has. Thus the country districts 
 have on the average one representative to each 20,000 inhabi- 
 tants, while the city population has on the average one repre- 
 sentative to each 40,000 inhabitants. A representative must 
 be a citizen and a voter, twenty-four years of age, and a resi- 
 dent taxpayer the year preceding his election. The pay of a 
 senator or representative is five dollars a day for seventy days, 
 except the revising session, which occurs once in ten years, when 
 he may receive five dollars a day for one hundred and twenty 
 days. After the time limit expires he receives one dollar a day 
 for the remainder of the session. The General Assembly is the 
 lawmaking body of the state. It meets on Wednesday after 
 the first Monday in January each odd numbered year. 
 
 The State Courts. There are four general trial courts in 
 the state of Missouri: the court of the justice of the peace, 
 circuit courts, courts of appeal, and the supreme court. In 
 addition there are probate courts and city police courts, which 
 have special duties, and several others of lunited importance. 
 
 The court of the justice of the peace is the lowest court. There 
 are two in each township. Thus a court is always close, and 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 41 
 
 disputes may be settled quickly. In each township a constable 
 is elected who carries out the orders and decisions of the Justice 
 of the Peace. Appeals may be taken to a higher court in im- 
 portant cases. 
 
 The circuit courts are the great trial courts of the state. 
 There are usually two or more counties in a circuit. There are 
 38 circuits in the state at present. A judge is elected in each 
 circuit for a term of six years. At least two, usually three, 
 terms of court are held in each county annually. In each 
 county there is a circuit clerk who keeps the records of the cir- 
 cuit court. The sheriff carries out the orders and decisions of 
 the circuit court. 
 
 There are three courts of appeal, and the state is di\aded 
 into three districts. The courts are named after the cities 
 in which court is held, the Kansas City, St. Louis, and 
 Springfield courts of appeal. Cases appealed from the circuit 
 courts usually go to one of these courts of appeal. Each 
 court has three judges elected for a term of twelve years. 
 
 The supreme court of the state holds its sessions at Jeffer- 
 son. City. It consists of seven judges elected for a term of 
 ten years. The court is divided into two divisions and each 
 division tries certain classes of cases, but certain important 
 cases come before the whole court. The salary of a judge of 
 the Supreme Court is $7,500 a year. 
 
 State Boards and Commissions. As the state has increased 
 in population, and modern methods of doing things have com- 
 pelled it to take over the control, regulation, and guidance of 
 many activities, a great many State Boards and Commissions 
 have been created to aid in governing the state. In some of 
 these boards, like the State Board of Agriculture, the members 
 serve without pay and employ a secretary and other officials 
 to do the work which the Board carries on. Others, like the 
 Public Service Commission, give all their tune to the work car- 
 ried on by the Board and receive a salary. The work of the 
 State Board of Health is carried on by a secretary assisted by a 
 
42 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 statistician and several clerks. This board keeps a record of all 
 births and deaths in the state. It also conducts a laboratory 
 where bacteriological examinations pertaining to the public 
 health are made free of charge. 
 
 The Public Service Commission is one of the most impor- 
 tant of these administrative bodies. It is composed of five 
 members appointed by the governor for a term of sLx years. 
 Each member receives a salary of $5,500 a year. The em- 
 ployees of the commission are required to be experts, having 
 both technical and practical experience. The commission has 
 extensive powers over all public service corporations, such as 
 railway, telegraph, telephone, water, light, and gas companies. 
 The intelligent exercise of these powers requires a vast 
 amount of work in collecting and handling statistics. The 
 commission maintains a general office and several depart- 
 ments. Its payroll for 19 17, including the salaries of the 
 members of the conmiission, was $95,600. 
 
 State Institutions. The state does much of its work through 
 its various institutions. There are twenty-four of these, each 
 governed by a board appointed by the governor. They may be 
 grouped into four classes determined by the work they do, first, 
 educational institutions, as the State University or State Schools; 
 second, eleemosynary institutions, as the School for the Blind or 
 the Hospitals for the Insane; third, the penal institutions, as 
 the Penitentiary and Reform schools; and fourth, agricultural 
 institutions, as the State Fair or the Fruit Experiment station. 
 
 Education. The state spends more money, employs more 
 workers, and reaches more people through its educational work 
 than through any other activity. The educational work is 
 under the direction of the State Superintendent of Public 
 Schools. The schools are of three kinds, elementary schools, 
 high schools, and higher institutions of learning, usually known 
 as State Educational Institutions and consisting gf the Univer- 
 sity of Missouri, the five State Normal Schools, and Lincoln 
 Institute for training colored teachers. 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 43 
 
 The high schools are divided into three classes. Each class 
 is required to maintain certain standards prescribed by law. 
 The high schools are inspected by an official of the State Depart- 
 ment of Education and if they are up to the required standard 
 they are reported as approved high schools of the first, second, 
 or third class, as the case may be. This approval means that 
 graduates of the school are admitted without examination 
 into all higher educational institutions of the state. It also 
 means, in many special cases, such as Teacher Training High 
 Schools and consolidated Rural High Schools, the payment of 
 a sum of money by the state toward the expense of maintaining 
 the school. This sum is sometimes as high as $800. 
 
 The elementary schools are the great basic schools of the 
 state. One of the greatest problems in the Missouri School 
 System is the rural school. In many country districts the 
 funds that can be raised are not sufficient to enable the people 
 to have a good school. Much good has been accomplished 
 by the state giving aid to weak districts that have levied 
 the constitutional Imiit of sLxty-five cents on the hundred 
 dollars' valuation and still do not have money enough to run 
 an eight months' school. This has done much to equalize 
 the opportunities of boys and girls of Missouri to get an 
 education, but much remains to be done along that line. 
 
 Local Government. People, interests, customs, and voca- 
 tions differ very much in different parts of the state. People 
 in large cities require many more rules for governing their 
 activity than the people in a thinly settled rural community. 
 Therefore, a great part of the work of government is delegated 
 by the state to various local governing units. The local govern- 
 ing units of Missouri are the counties, townships, cities, towns, 
 villages, and school districts. 
 
 The County. The county is the great working unit of gov- 
 ernment. Its officials come in constant contact with the people 
 both as county oflicials and as agents of the state government. 
 They make assessments, collect taxes, and distribute money, 
 
44 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 for the state. The county court is the important governing 
 body of the coimty. It is not a court in the sense in which the 
 term is generally used. In most states the bodies having similar 
 duties are called county commissioners, or boards of super- 
 visors. The county court meets at least once each three months 
 and more frequently if necessary. It has general supervisory 
 powers over other county officials, attends to the business of 
 the county, determines the amount of the county tax levy, pro- 
 vides for opening county roads, and appoints minor officials. 
 
 The county court is composed of three judges. The presiding 
 judge is elected by the entire county for a term of four years. 
 The two district judges are elected for a term of two years. 
 The county clerk is the clerk of the county court and keeps the 
 business records of the county. The circuit clerk is clerk of the 
 circuit court. The recorder keeps a record of all deeds, mort- 
 gages, and other papers concerning the title to property. The 
 sheriff is the peace officer of the county, has charge of all crimi- 
 nals, and persons charged with crune, and he executes the orders 
 of the circuit court. The assessor lists all property of the county. 
 The collector collects the revenues of the county, and the treas- 
 urer keeps the money of the county and pays warrants issued 
 by proper authority. The prosecuting attorney is the legal 
 adviser of the county court and prosecutes those who have been 
 arrested for crime. 
 
 The surveyor fixes officially the boundary lines of land 
 owned by private citizens in cases where for any reason the 
 parties owning the land desire to have the boundaries estab- 
 lished. The superintendent of public schools grants certificates 
 to teach, visits schools, holds public meetings in the interest 
 of education, and has general supervision of the schools of the 
 county. The probate judge looks after the estates of deceased 
 persons and appoints administrators and guardians, who act 
 under his orders. The coroner examines into the causes of any 
 suspicious deaths and has authority to make arrests. 
 
 All of the above named county officials, except the district 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 45 
 
 judges and the prosecuting attorney, serve for a temi of four 
 years. Their salaries are fixed by state law and frequently 
 depend upon fees, or population of the county, so that they 
 usually vary in different counties. 
 
 Cities, Towns, and Villages. Where a large number of 
 people live together in a small area, many problems arise which 
 cannot be handled by the county government. The danger 
 from criminals is increased, fire spreads easily, contagious dis- 
 eases threaten the public health, and people need to cooperate 
 in many things, such as getting water, lights, sewers, and paved 
 streets. In order that these problems may be solved by the 
 people of each community, the state grants specific governing 
 power to the community, and it may become incorporated and 
 exercise these powers by complying with certain conditions 
 specified by law. These requirements are different for the 
 various classes of cities. 
 
 In Missouri there are four classes of cities based on popu- 
 lation. The state laws prescribe the officers for each class. 
 Cities are usually governed by a mayor and council. The 
 council passes ordinances and it is the duty of the mayor to 
 enforce them. The mayor has the veto power, and can thus 
 check undesirable legislation by the council. In providing 
 for city government, the national and state government seems 
 to have been used as a model. However, there is a law pro- 
 viding that cities of the second and third class may, by 
 a majority vote, adopt what is known as a commission form 
 of government. City taxation is limited to twenty-five cents 
 on the hundred dollars' valuation for cities whose population 
 is 1000 or less. The rate increases with the population until 
 cities with 30,000 or over are allowed to levy 100 cents on the 
 hundred dollars' valuation. The constitution also limits the 
 debt of cities to 5% of the assessed valuation and requires a 
 two-thirds' vote to legalize a bond issue. Tliis tends to pre- 
 vent cities from doing many things that could be done better 
 by the city than by the individual or by private corporations. 
 
46 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 School Districts. The smallest and most numerous of the 
 subdivisions of the state is the school district, which is provided 
 for by state law. The school districts vary greatly in size. The 
 rural district is governed by three directors, whose chief duty 
 is to employ the teacher. The constitution limits taxation to 
 sixty-five cents on the hundred dollars' valuation in the rural 
 districts. The village districts are governed by six directors 
 and are allowed by the constitution to levy loo cents on the 
 hundred dollars' valuation for school purposes. These districts 
 usually support a high school as well as elementary schools. 
 
 Roads. The state has provided five plans for building roads 
 and keeping them in repair. First, the county court divides 
 the county into small road districts and appoints a road over- 
 seer for each district. A poll tax and a local property tax pro- 
 vides funds for working the roads. Second, road districts eight 
 miles square, containing a village or city may by vote organize 
 a special road district, vote bonds by a two-thirds' vote, and 
 use the proceeds in building rock roads. Third, special benefit 
 assessment road districts may be organized. In this case the 
 road is built and paid for by assessing the land touching or near 
 the road. Fourth, any county court may, provided the county 
 has approved the proposition by a two-thirds' vote, issue bonds 
 to five per cent of the assessed valuation and use the proceeds 
 in building permanent roads. Fifth, in 1916 Congress appro- 
 priated $75,000,000 to be distributed among the states for build- 
 ing roads during the next five years; Missouri's share is about 
 $2,500,000, but the state must spend an equal amount in con- 
 structing permanent roads in order to get the government money. 
 
 In 191 7 the General Assembly passed a law creating a 
 state highway department to supervise the selection and con- 
 struction of state roads. The law contemplates the construc- 
 tion of 3,500 miles of permanent state roads to be paid for by 
 the United States and the State of Missouri. The state's part 
 is to be paid out of the state road fund, which is raised by auto- 
 mobile license and other fees. The benefit of good roads to an 
 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF MISSOURI 47 
 
 agricultural state like Missouri cannot be overestimated. One 
 important benefit would be the increased ability of the rural 
 communities to provide adequate schools for their children. 
 Hard surfaced roads would make the consolidated school, with 
 pupils transported by automobile hacks, the cheapest schools 
 for most of our rural communities. 
 
 Good Government. Good government depends more upon 
 the attitude and patriotism of the individual citizen than upon 
 the particular form. Money honestly and intelligently spent 
 for needed miprovements will always bring excellent returns 
 to the community. The bond to provide money is one of the 
 greatest agents of civilization, and no community can make a 
 mistake in voting bonds, provided, first, the purpose for which 
 the money is to be spent is a worthy one; and, second, provided 
 the community voting the bonds will see that the money is 
 honestly used for the purpose intended. 
 
 The value received by the community depends upon the 
 honesty and intelligence of the ofiicials spending the money. 
 Dishonesty and graft in ofiice has in it the elements of treason, 
 for it undermines the confidence of a people in their govern- 
 ment. It is one of the worst crunes of which any man can be 
 guilty and should be so considered by the community. The 
 fact that the crime is committed against the community as a 
 whole and not against any particular individual makes it all 
 the more serious, but at the same time the crmiinal is less 
 likely to be prosecuted because no one person cares to make 
 complaint. Here is where the duty of citizenship should cause 
 every one to act. Any public official who is careless with 
 public funds is an enemy of good government, even though 
 the carelessness is without criminal intent, and it is the duty 
 of every good citizen to prosecute such an official. A good 
 citizen will insist that public officials do their duty and will 
 do all in his power to aid in enforcing the laws. This is just 
 as unportant as fighting in our army and navy against a 
 national enemy. Be a good citizen. 
 
48 ELEMENTARY HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 
 
 QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 
 
 1. How long is the Governor's term of office? What are his powers and 
 
 duties? 
 
 2. Name the other chief state officials. 
 
 3. How is the General Assembly made up? 
 
 4. How many general trial courts are there in Missouri? Name them. 
 
 Describe them brieliy. 
 
 5. Name the various state boards and commissions. 
 
 6. What are the powers of the Pubhc Service Commission? 
 
 7. How is a county governed and managed? 
 
 8. What are the powers of the County Court? Of whom is it composed? 
 
 9. Describe the duties of the County clerk, recorder, sheriff, assessor, 
 
 collector, prosecutor, attorney, surveyor, superintendent of public 
 schools, probate judge, and coroner? 
 
 10. What are some of the problems of governing a city? 
 
 11. How are cities usually governed? 
 
 12. Where does the money come from for building and repairing roads? 
 
 13. Are good roads beneficial to rural communities? 
 
 14. Upon what does good government really depend? 
 
 15. What are the duties of good citizens?