History of slavery in Missouri facts for kids

The story of slavery in the area that became Missouri began in 1720. A French businessman named Philippe François Renault brought about 500 enslaved people from Africa to work. They traveled up the Mississippi River to dig for lead in what is now southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois. These were the first large groups of enslaved Africans brought to this part of the Mississippi River Valley. Before this, slavery in Missouri under French rule was much smaller.

How Slavery Grew in Missouri

Slavery became much more common in Missouri after two big events. One was the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. This machine made it easier to process cotton. The other event was the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. These events caused many American settlers who owned slaves to move west. They came to the area that is now Missouri and Arkansas. Most slave owners in Missouri had moved from places like North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.

Growing cotton was not as easy in Missouri's climate as in other southern states. So, cotton farms were only in the very southern parts of Missouri. In other areas of Missouri, slavery was focused on different crops. These included tobacco, hemp, grain, and raising livestock. Many of these large farms were along the Missouri River, especially in the western part of the state. Some enslaved people also worked on the ferries of the Mississippi River. They worked as stevedores (people who load ships), cabin boys, or deckhands.

When the Louisiana area was bought in 1803, there were about 2,000 to 3,000 enslaved people in Missouri. By 1860, Missouri had 114,931 enslaved people. There were also 3,572 free Black people. At the start of the American Civil War, only 36 counties in Missouri had 1,000 or more enslaved people. An enslaved man could be sold for up to $1,300. In 1860, all the enslaved people in Missouri were worth about $44 million.

Rules for Enslaved People

Spanish officials first set up rules for enslaved people in the 1770s. After the U.S. took over, Missouri made its own rules in 1804. These rules were called "slave codes." Under these codes, enslaved people could not use firearms. They also could not gather in groups that were not allowed. The codes also gave harsh punishments for enslaved people who took part in riots or disobeyed their masters. These rules stayed in the State Constitution of 1820.

In 1824, the Missouri General Assembly passed a law. This law allowed enslaved people to sue for their freedom. It also gave them some protections during this process. However, a law in 1825 said that Black people could not be witnesses in legal cases involving white people. Their statements were automatically not allowed. In 1847, a rule was made that banned the education of Black and mixed-race people. Anyone caught teaching a Black person, whether enslaved or free, could be fined $500 and jailed for six months.

Elijah Parish Lovejoy was a newspaper editor who spoke out against slavery. He published a paper called the Observer in St. Louis. In 1836, a mob forced him to leave. He moved across the Mississippi River to Alton, Illinois. Later, he was killed in a fight with a group of people who supported slavery.

The Dred Scott Case

In 1846, a very important legal case about slavery started in St. Louis. Dred Scott was an enslaved man. He sued his owner's widow for his freedom. He based his case on a Missouri rule. This rule said that enslaved people who lived for a long time in a free state or territory would become free. They would stay free even if they returned to Missouri.

Scott had lived for several years in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory with his owner, Dr. John Emerson. He returned to Missouri in 1840. After Emerson died, his widow would not sell Scott and his family their freedom. So, Scott used the 1824 Missouri law to sue.

Scott eventually lost his case in the Supreme Court of Missouri. But he sued again in 1853 under federal law. The case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. It became a major point of disagreement in the national debate over slavery. In 1857, the Supreme Court made its decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford. The Court said that enslaved people were not citizens. This meant Scott did not have the right to sue for his family's freedom.

This important decision also said that parts of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 were against the Constitution. The ruling made the conflict between those who supported slavery and those who opposed it even worse. The Scott family was later given their freedom by their owners. However, Dred Scott died shortly after, in 1858.

Bleeding Kansas and John Brown

Before 1850, Missouri was next to large, empty territories to its west. These lands were gained from the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican Cession. In 1854, the Kansas–Nebraska Act was passed. This law said that people in new states could decide if they would be free states or slave states. This idea was called "popular sovereignty". Missouri was very involved in trying to make Kansas a slave state.

Many people from Missouri illegally voted in Kansas elections. This helped elect a group of lawmakers who supported slavery. These lawmakers made Missouri's slave laws the laws of Kansas. They also added other rules to help slavery grow in the territory.

On December 20, 1858, John Brown entered northwest Missouri. He freed 11 enslaved people. He also captured two white men and took horses and wagons. (See Battle of the Spurs.) The Governor of Missouri offered a $3,000 reward for Brown's capture. On January 20, 1859, Brown began a long trip. He took the freed enslaved people to Detroit and then by ferry to Canada.

The End of Slavery in Missouri

Missouri was one of the border states during the American Civil War. This meant it was not included in President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. That order freed enslaved people only in areas held by Confederate forces.

On January 11, 1865, a state meeting approved a rule to end slavery in Missouri. The vote was 60 to 4. Later that same day, Governor Thomas Clement Fletcher issued his own "Proclamation of Freedom." This action officially ended legal slavery in the state of Missouri.