MMMCMXCIX Section 1.  

ACT OF ADMISSION

An Act to authorize the people of the Missouri territory to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union on an equal footing with the original states, and to prohibit slavery in certain territories.

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

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

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

From the county of Howard, five representatives. From the county of Cooper, three representatives. From the county of Montgomery, two representatives. From the county of Pike, one representative. From the county of Lincoln, one representative. From the county of St. Charles, three representatives. From the county of Franklin, one representative. From the county of St. Louis, eight representatives. From the county of Jefferson, one representative. From the county of Washington, three representatives. From the county of Ste. Genevieve, four representatives. From the county of Madison, one representative. From the county of Cape Girardeau, five representatives. From the county of New Madrid, two representatives. From the county of Wayne, and that portion of the county of Lawrence which falls within the boundaries herein designated, one representative.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Approved, March 6, 1820.

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*In pursuance of the provisions of this act, members of the convention were elected to form a constitution and state government.  They assembled at St. Louis on the 12th of June, 1820, and determined that it was expedient to form a constitution and state government, and having accepted the five propositions offered by the sixth section of the above act, passed an ordinance, which was finally signed on the 19th of July, 1820.  A constitution was formed whereby the boundaries mentioned in the second section of the above act were ratified, and a new state established by the name of the State of Missouri.  Agreeably to the seventh section of the above act, an attested copy of the constitution was transmitted to Congress.  Under this constitution, in August, 1820, the people held a general election, at which state and county officers were chosen and the state government organized.  From this cause the records of the state date the admission of Missouri into the Union from August, 1820.  A resolution was introduced in Congress for the unconditional admission of the state into the Union, as had been the uniform course in relation to other new states.  This resolution was, however, defeated; and finally, after much discussion, a resolution was passed for admitting the state on a certain condition.  The legislature of Missouri, on the 27th day of June, 1821, accepted the condition, protesting at the same time against the right of Congress to impose it, and on the 10th of August, 1821, the President of the United States issued his proclamation, announcing the acceptance by this state of the condition.

  

ORDINANCE OF ACCEPTANCE

ORDINANCE,

Declaring the assent of the people of the State of Missouri, by their representatives in convention assembled, to certain conditions and provisions in the act of congress of the sixth of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, entitled "An act to authorise the people of Missouri territory to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the union on an equal footing with the original states, and to prohibit slavery in certain territories."

WHEREAS, The act of congress of the United States of America, approved March the sixth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, entitled "An act to authorise the people of Missouri territory to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the union on an equal footing with the original states, and to prohibit slavery in certain territories," contains certain requisitions and provisions, and, among other things, has offered to this convention when formed, for and in behalf of the people inhabiting this state, for their free acceptance or rejection, the five following propositions, and which, if accepted by this convention in behalf of the people as aforesaid, are to be obligatory on the United States, viz:

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

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

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

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

"Fifth, That thirty-six sections, or one entire township, which shall be designated by the President of the United States, together with the other lands heretofore reserved for that purpose, shall be reserved for the use of a seminary of learning, and vested in the legislature of said state, to be appropriated solely for the use of such seminary, by the legislature."

NOW THIS CONVENTION, for and in behalf of the people inhabiting this state, and by the authority of the said people, DO ACCEPT the five before recited propositions offered by the act of congress under which they are assembled; and in pursuance of the conditions, requisitions, and other provisions in the before recited act of congress contained, this convention, for and in behalf of the people inhabiting this state, DO ORDAIN, AGREE, and DECLARE, that every and each tract of land sold by the United States from and after the first day of January next, shall remain exempt from any tax laid by order or under the authority of the state, whether for state, county, or township, or any other purpose whatever, for the term of five years from and after the respective days of sale thereof; and that the bounty lands granted, or hereafter to be granted, for military services during the late war, shall, while they continue to be held by the patentees or their heirs, remain exempt as aforesaid from taxation for the term of three years from and after the date of the patents respectively; provided, nevertheless, that if the congress of the United States shall consent to repeal and revoke the following clause in the fifth proposition of the sixth section of the act of congress before recited, and in these words, viz: "That every and each tract of land sold by the United States from and after the first day of January next, shall remain exempt from any tax laid by order, or under the authority of the state, whether for state, county, or township, or any purpose whatever, for the term of five years from and after the day of sale, and further,"—that this convention, for and in behalf of the people of the state of Missouri, do hereby ordain, consent, and agree, that the same be so revoked and repealed without which consent of the congress as aforesaid, the said clause to remain in full force and operation as first above provided for, in this ordinance: and this convention doth hereby request the congress of the United States so to modify their third proposition, that the whole amount of five per cent. on the sale of public lands therein offered, may be applied to the construction of roads and canals, and the promotion of education within this state, under the direction of the legislature thereof. And this convention for and in behalf of the people inhabiting this state, and by the authority of the said people, do further ORDAIN, AGREE, and DECLARE that this ordinance shall be IRREVOCABLE without the consent of the United States.

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(Adopted by convention July 19, 1820)

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Note: Agreeably to the compact formed between the United States and the state of Missouri, the school lands mentioned in the first proposition have been appropriated to the use of common schools. The salt springs and lands adjoining have been selected and disposed of. The lands for the location of the seat of government have been selected and appropriated. The university lands have been designated and mostly disposed of.

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Congress, by an act approved June 10, 1852, consented to such a modification of the compact with this state as to permit the state to impose a tax or taxes upon all lands sold by the United States in the state, from and after the day of such sale.

  

ADMISSION OF MISSOURI INTO THE UNION

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

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

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APPROVED, March 2, 1821.

  

A SOLEMN PUBLIC ACT

A SOLEMN PUBLIC ACT, declaring the assent of this State to the fundamental condition contained in a resolution passed by the Congress of the United States, providing for the admission of the State of Missouri into the Union on a certain condition.

WHEREAS, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, by their resolution approved on the second day of March, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and twenty-one, did declare that Missouri shall be admitted into this Union, upon an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever, upon the fundamental condition, that the fourth clause of the twenty sixth section of the third article of the constitution, submitted on the part of said state to Congress, shall never be construed to authorise the passage of any law, and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which any citizen of either of the States in this Union, shall be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such citizen is entitled under the constitution of the United States; provided, that the legislature of the said state, by a solemn public act, shall declare the assent of said state, to the said fundamental condition, and shall transmit to the President of the U. States, on or before the fourth Monday in November next, an authentic copy of the said act; upon the receipt whereof, the President, by proclamation shall announce the fact, whereupon, and without any further proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of said state into this Union shall be considered as complete.

Now, for as much as the good people of this state have by the most solemn and public act in their power, virtually assented to the said fundamental condition, when by their representatives in full and free convention assembled, they adopted the constitution of this state, and consented to be incorporated into the federal Union, and governed by the constitution of the United States, which among other things provides that the said constitution, and the laws of the United States made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or law of any state to the contrary notwithstanding; and although this general assembly are of opinion that the congress of the United States have no constitutional power to annex any condition to the admission of this state into the federal Union, and that this general assembly have no power to change the operation of the constitution of this state, except in the mode prescribed by the constitution itself; Nevertheless, as the congress of the United States have desired this general assembly to declare the assent of this state to said fundamental condition, and forasmuch as such declaration will neither restrain, or enlarge, limit or extend the operation of the constitution of the United States, or of this state, but the said constitutions will remain in all respects as if the said resolution had never passed, and the desired declaration was never made, and because such declaration will not divest any power or change the duties of any of the constituted authorities of this state, or of the United States, nor impair the rights of the people of this state, or impose any additional obligation upon them, but may promote an earlier enjoyment of their vested federal rights, and this state being moreover determined to give to her sister states, and to the world, the most unequivocal proof of her desire to promote the peace and harmony of the Union, Therefore,

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Be it enacted and declared by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, and it is hereby solemnly and publicly enacted and declared,

That this state has assented and does assent that the fourth clause of the twenty-sixth section of the third article of the constitution of this state, shall never be construed to authorise the passage of any law, and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which any citizen of either of the United States shall be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such citizens are entitled under the constitution of the United States.

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Approved, June 26, 1821.

  

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

A PROCLAMATION.

Whereas the Congress of the United States by a Joint Resolution of the second day of March last, entitled "Resolution providing for the admission of the State of Missouri into the Union on a certain condition," did determine and declare - "That Missouri should be admitted into this Union on an equal footing with the original States, in all respects whatever, upon the fundamental condition, that the fourth clause of the twenty sixth section of the third article of the Constitution submitted on the part of said State to Congress, shall never be construed to authorize the passage of any law, and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which any citizen of either of the States of this Union shall be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such Citizen is entitled under the Constitution of the United States: Provided, That the legislature of said State, by a solemn public act, shall declare the assent of the said State to the said fundamental condition, and shall transmit to the President of the United States, on or before the first Monday in November next an authentic copy of said act; upon the receipt whereof, the President, by Proclamation, shall announce the fact; Whereupon, and without any further Proceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of the said State into this Union shall be considered as complete:" and whereas by a solemn public act of the assembly of the said State of Missouri, passed on the twenty sixth of June in the present year, entitled "A solemn public act declaring the assent of this State to the fundamental condition contained in a Resolution passed by the Congress of the United States, providing for the admission of the State of Missouri into the Union on a certain Condition," an authentic Copy whereof has been communicated to me, it is solemnly and publicly enacted and declared, that that State has assented and does assent, that the fourth clause of the twenty sixth section of the third article of the Constitution of said State "shall never be construed to authorize the passage of any law, and that no law shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which any citizen of either of the United States shall be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such citizens are entitled under the Constitution of the United States": Now, therefore, I, James Monroe, President of the United States, in pursuance of the Resolution of Congress aforesaid, have issued this, my Proclamation, announcing the fact, that the said State of Missouri has assented to the fundamental Condition required by the Resolution of Congress aforesaid: Whereupon the admission of the said State of Missouri into this Union is declared to be complete.       

  

PREAMBLE

We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness, do establish this Constitution for the better government of the state.

Source: Preamble of Const. of 1875.

  

In order to assert our rights, acknowledge our duties, and proclaim the principles on which our government is founded, we declare:

Source: Bill of Rights, Art. II, Const. of 1875.