Missouri Constitutional Convention of 1861–1863

• 1. Convention Origins And Election

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  The Missouri General Assembly passed a bill on the 17th of January to call for a constitutional convention. This legislative action occurred just weeks before the state would vote in early February. The election scheduled for the 18th of February selected 99 delegates from across the state senate districts. Three distinct political groups competed for these seats during that winter campaign. One faction demanded immediate secession like South Carolina had done. A second group called unconditional unionists opposed any separation from the Union. A third contingent known as conditional unionists refused immediate secession but remained open to it if slavery terms were met. The two unionist factions won nearly all available seats in that election. Charles H. Hardin submitted an amendment requiring ratification of any secession declaration by voters. His proposal passed the state senate by only two votes, 17 to 15.

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• 2. Rejection Of Secession

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  Delegates gathered at Jefferson City on the 28th of February 1861 to begin their work. Eighty-two of the 99 delegates had been born in slave states including Virginia and Kentucky. Sterling Price served as chairman despite his conditional unionist stance. The assembly moved its meeting location to St. Louis Mercantile Library on the 4th of March. On the 19th of March the body voted 89, 1 against secession. Hamilton Rowan Gamble chaired a Federal relations committee formed immediately after the vote. Gamble declared that joining a Southern confederacy would mean annihilation for Missouri militarily. He argued that most Missourians sympathized with the South yet recognized the danger of leaving the Union. The convention resolved to labor for adjustments securing peace while maintaining equality among all states. This decision effectively kept Missouri out of the Confederate alliance during early spring.

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• 3. Military Conflict And Relocation

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  Confederate forces bombarded Fort Sumter on the 13th of April 1861 triggering Lincoln's call for troops. Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson rejected the federal request claiming constitutional authority did not exist. Pro-secession militia companies seized the U.S. Arsenal in Liberty on the 20th of April. Nathaniel Lyon surrounded state militia prisoners at Camp Jackson on the 10th of May. The General Assembly passed a military bill reorganizing the militia into the Missouri State Guard under Sterling Price. Lyon replaced William S. Harney and demanded Jackson and Price leave the city within one hour. Union forces entered Jefferson City on the 15th of June without resistance. Twenty delegates fled with Jackson and Price while Robert Wilson became chairman of the remaining group. The executive committee called a new session to meet on July 22 in St. Louis.

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• 4. Provisional Government Formation

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  The remaining convention members declared all state elective offices vacant on that summer day. Hamilton Rowan Gamble received appointment as governor despite being absent from the state initially. Willard P. Hall took the position of lieutenant governor alongside Mordecai Oliver as secretary of state. George Caleb Bingham served as treasurer during this provisional administration. The body also declared all seats in the Missouri General Assembly vacant immediately. An election scheduled for November aimed to fill both executive and legislative positions. This action effectively removed pro-Confederate leadership from power structures across Missouri. The convention adjourned on July 31 after establishing these new appointments. These moves created a parallel government loyal to the Union cause.

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• 5. Loyalty Oaths And Political Control

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  Delegates reconvened in St. Louis on the 10th of October 1861 to enact loyalty requirements. They abolished many existing state offices and cut employee salaries by 20 percent. A planned state election was postponed until August 1862 under new rules. All state officials faced mandatory loyalty oath requirements before holding office. Teachers, attorneys, bank officers, and preachers had to swear allegiance in June 1862. Voters themselves were required to take oaths ensuring strong Union support in future elections. Abraham Lincoln received only 10.3% of the vote in 1860 but won 70% in 1864. These measures ensured political dominance for unionist factions throughout the war years. The strategy successfully suppressed Confederate sympathizers from influencing local governance.

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• 6. Emancipation Debates And Ordinance

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  John C. Frémont issued an emancipation decree for Missouri in 1861 before Lincoln rescinded it. The convention attempted unsuccessfully to abolish slavery during 1862 sessions. Final deliberations occurred in June 1863 with the goal of eliminating slavery entirely. A constitutional provision requiring owner consent and compensation payments blocked immediate abolition. State funds proved insufficient to pay slave owners for their human property. An ordinance passed establishing gradual emancipation completed on the 4th of July 1870. Radical Republicans opposed this compromise and nominated John C. Frémont for president in 1864. Thomas Clement Fletcher led a new convention elected in November 1864. That body abolished slavery without compensation by a 60 to 4 vote on the 11th of January 1865.

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