Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/299

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 239 of a few negroes who might possibly wish to move to Missouri. In spite of the fact that the Missouri Compromise had been agreed to, there were a large number of the members of the house who had determined that the state should never be admitted as a slave state, and their real motive was the desire to keep the state from being admitted imtil a constitu- tion prohibiting slavery should be adopted. The debate on this resolution was one of the fiercest that ever took place in Congress. The whole country was stirred to fever heat by the charges and counter charges, by the threats of cession and the breaking up of the Union that were made on both sides. The whole institution of slavery was attacked with utmost vehemence and the right of the people of the states to decide this question for them- selves was defended with equal fervor. After several weeks of debate, and at a time when it seemed the very foundations of the govern- ment itself would crumble ; when fear was present everywhere that the Union could not long survive, Henry Clay, of Kentucky, in- troduced a resolution, which was adopted, pro- viding that a committee of twenty-three mem- bers should be appointed by the senate and the house, who should take the whole matter under consideration and make a report to Congress. After long discussion, this commit- tee reported to each house of Congress, Febru- ary 26, 1821, a resolution which provided that Missouri should be admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the original states upon the fvmdamental condition that the 4th clause of the 26th section of the 3rd article of the constitution — the clause which forbade im- migration of negroes — should never be con- strued to authorize the passage of any law by which any citizen of either of the states should be excluded from the enjoyment of any of the privileges to which he is entitled under the constitution of the United States. The resolu- tion further provided that the legislature of Missouri by a solemn public act should de- clare the assent of the state to this funda- mental condition, and should transmit to the president of the United States a copy of their actions. The president was thereupon author- ized to issue a proclamation reciting the fact that the legislature had passed such an act and that upon the making of this proclama- tion the admission to Missouri should be con- sidered as complete. The resolution so reported was adopted on February 28th. The reason for referring the matter to the president and making his proc- lamation the basis for the final admission of the state, rather than an act of Congress, was to avoid any further discussion or agitation of a question which was felt to be dangerous to the safety of the country. All that remained to be done, under the terms of this resolution was for the legislature of the state to publish the solemn public act required of it. In order to do this, Governor Clark convened the legis- lature in special session June 24, 1821, and on June 26th the legislature adopted the fol- lowing act: "Forasmuch 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 conven- tion assembled, they adopted the constitution of this state, and consented to be incorporated into the federal Union, and governed by the con.stitution of the United States, which, among other things, provides that the said constitution and 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, anything