Missouri Stays in the Union

Monday, February 18, 1861

A political cartoon on a Union envelope. Courtesy of the University of South Carolina.

Missouri voters elect delegates to a state convention that will begin on February 28 to “consider the then existing relations between the Government of the United States…and the people of the State of Missouri.” Over 140,000 votes are cast, with nearly 110,000 of them in favor of staying in the Union either unconditionally or with conditions. The vote signals the lack of support for secession, which is still favored by Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson.