The first constitution was written by Constitutional Convention in 1820 in only 38 days, and was adopted on July 19, 1820. During the
American Civil War, the
Missouri Constitutional Convention (1861–63) was elected to decide on secession. They chose against secession, and did not produce a new constitution. Instead, they operated as the
de facto pro-Union government of Missouri when Governor
Claiborne Fox Jackson and other politicians that supported the Confederacy fled from
Jefferson City. They provided elections to a new constitutional convention, which was elected in November 1864 and met in January 1865, and passed a second Missouri state constitution that abolished slavery, ratified on June 6, 1865. This second constitution was known as the "Draconian Constitution" due to its loyalty oath provisions, which were struck down by the US Supreme Court in
Cummings v. Missouri (1867). This constitution remained in effect for ten years. The fourth constitutional convention was held in 1875, which drafted the state's third constitution. In the early 20th century, Missouri was dominated by corrupt political "bosses", such as
Tom Pendergast of
Kansas City. In reaction to this, reformers used the initiative to call for a sixth constitutional convention, and the initiative was passed by the voters in 1942. The voters ratified the new constitution in 1945. According to Article XII of the present constitution, the people of Missouri are given the option to call a new constitutional convention every 20 years through an automatic referendum that appears on that year's ballot. This has been voted on in 1962, 1982, 2002, 2022, and will be voted on again in 2042. To date, these referendums have not passed. ==Articles==