Mississippi Company

This land company was started in 1769 ' by some wealthy and prominent Virgin i ans as a rival to the Walpole Company, which, in 1766, had obtained a grant of 500,000 acres alorg the Scioto River., Mi ouri was formed originally from the Louisiana ce ion. The country was first settled by the French. In 1805 the southern portion of the Louisiana country was organized as a territory under the name of Orleans, and the northern portion under that of Louisiana. When Louisiana was admitted as a State, in 1812, the northern portion was. called Mi ouri Territory. In 1817 Mi ouri asked leave of Congze to frame a State Constitution. This was the cause of a fierce contest in Congre over the question of the existence of slavery in Mi ouri, which was settled by the famous compromise (1820) of Henry Clay. (See Mi ouri Compromise.) This provided for the admi ion of Mi ouri as a slave State, but that in future slavery should be prohibited in all territory forming part of the Louisiana ce ion north of 36° 30°. Mi ouri‘adopted a State Constitution July, 1820, which established slavery and forbade the immigration into the State of free negroes. This negro clause led to another contest in Congre , and another compromise, whereby Mi ouri was admitted August 10, 1821. The electoral vote of the State was cast for Clay in 1824, since which time the State has been Democratic except during the period from 1862 to 1870, when the Republicans were in control. In 1849 the Democratic party in the State split into the ‘‘hards,’’ or Benton men, and the “‘softs,’’ or proslavery party. A State Convention met in 1861, which proved to he of Union sentiment. An unsucce ful attempt was made by the State officers to make an armed resistance to the Union, and they were forced to flee from the State. The powers of government were then a umed by the convention, which, in 1863, pa ed an ordinance of gradual abolution of slavery. In 1864 Lincoln carried the State. The Republicans divided in 1870 over the disfranchising clauses of the Constitution. The ‘‘ Liberal’? Republicans, headed by Carl Schurz and B. G. Brown, elected Brown Governor of the State. In 1872 the State elected Greeley electors, and in 1874 the Republican party disappeared. Since then the State has been Democratic. The population of the State in 1821 was 66,586; in 1900, 3,106,665. The present Constitution of the State was made in 1875. 461