| The
Constitution of 1865 was called Drake's Constitution because
of Charles Daniel Drake, the predominant influence at the
Missouri state convention that drafted it. The Constitution
was submitted to the people for their approval or
disapproval on June 6, 1865, yet despite the test oath
required of all Missouri voters, the delegates feared the
constitution might be defeated.
Knowing that Union
soldiers would be unlikely to vote against a document which
struck at men who had supported the Confederate cause, Drake
persuaded the convention to require the Governor to send
poll books and copies of the proposed constitution to army
posts outside the state so that Missouri soldiers in the
U.S. armies might vote. Had it not been for the votes of
those soldiers, the constitution most likely would have been
defeated.
A vote for this
Missouri constitution was also a vote for the “Ordinance
for the Payment of State and Railroad Indebtedness."
Few voters knew the details of the ordinance, but it levied
a tax on railroad corporations, the proceeds of which were
to be used to pay their debts to the state, and a special
property tax of one-fourth percent to help retire the state
debt.
The Drake
Constitution struck forcefully at the rights of Missourians
who had aligned themselves with the Southern Cause during
the Civil War. Many found that, upon their successful
return home, their Southern loyalty exacted an even higher
price than having their property and land seized in common
with those of other “rebels”.
Perhaps the hardest
disability incurred by these Missouri men was the
enforcement of numerous Drake Constitution proscribed acts,
all directly or indirectly related to Confederate service or
sympathy. Missouri citizens were required to swear an
oath specifying their abstinence from a long list of acts
and those who failed to take the oath were strictly
prohibited from practicing law or medicine, preaching,
teaching school, or following almost any other occupation
except manual labor or business pursuits. They were also
prohibited from voting.
For example,
ministers who once held the attention of large congregations
but sympathized with the Southern people were prohibited
from preaching the Gospel unless they took an oath of
perjury declaring that they had no such sympathy.
Many individuals
declined to take the oath making it next to impossible for
them to return to society in their previous position. Their
suffering extended beyond perjury and many were forced to
recreate themselves in new professions just to feed and
clothe their families.
The enforcement of
the Drake provisions greatly encouraged migration of many
Missourians to the Indian territories, Texas or beyond and
it is believed to have been a contributing factor to the
formation of various post-Civil War outlaw and vigilante
groups.
Source: Compilation
by Lisa Perry from various sources to include the Missouri
State Archives teaching document “Military Poll Book,
1865”.
For more information
on “Life in Post-Civil War Missouri”, read the very
interesting paper by Missouri historian, Dr. Gary Kremer,
posted at
http://www.friendsar.org/postcivil.html |
