Volume 1

Transcribed, footnoted articles from the Missouri Democrat newspaper. Volume 1 of Series 1 covers January and February 1861, a critical moment as Missouri faced the growing national crisis over secession. Following the fall 1860 elections, Claiborne Fox Jackson and Thomas Caute Reynolds were inaugurated as governor and lieutenant governor on January 3, while President-elect Abraham Lincoln awaited his March inauguration. The volume opens with a December 1860 article addressing the central issue of the period: whether Missouri should hold a state convention to decide if it would remain in the Union or join the seceding Southern states. Debates in the press examine slavery, economic consequences, and political loyalty, while national developments—such as Major Robert Anderson’s Christmas 1860 move from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter—signal the approaching conflict that would erupt into war in April.

A major theme throughout the volume is the rivalry between St. Louis’s two leading newspapers, the Missouri Democrat and the Missouri Republican, which sharply disagree over secession, federal authority, and the intentions of Governor Jackson. Articles, editorials, and letters to the editor reflect the intense political divisions of the period while also introducing individuals and organizations that would shape Missouri’s role in the conflict. Sidebars throughout the volume provide background on key topics including the Secession Convention, political factions, military organizations such as the Minute Men and Wide Awakes, and tensions surrounding the St. Louis Arsenal. The volume concludes with the opening of the Missouri State Convention in St. Louis on February 28, an event that would soon play a decisive role in Missouri’s struggle over Union and secession.