Missouri: The Heart of the Nation

Summary: Chapters 13 and 14

Chapter 13

-The Frontier Artist
-George Caleb Bingham (1811-79)
-Carl Wimar (1828-62)
-Schools and Galleries
-Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975)
-Samuel Langhorne Clemens, "Mark Twain" (1835-1910)
-Eugene Field, "The Children's Poet" (1850-95)
-Kate O'Flaherty Chopin (1851-1904)
-Harold Bell Wright (1872-1944)
-Reedy's Mirror
-Three Important Poets
-The Sound of Music
-Ragtime
-Scott Joplin (1868-1917)
-"I Hate to See De Evenin' Sun Go Down"
-The Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World's Fair, 1904)


This chapter introduces some of the great writers and artists, in several fields, in Missouri in the 19th and 20th centuries. Great painters such as George Caleb Bingham and Thomas Hart Benton were know not only as great Missouri painters; they were great American painters. The writers such as Mark Twain, Eugene Field, and Kate O'Flaherty Chopin also gained national attention for their works. Poets such as T.S Eliot also came from Missouri and became world-famous. Even famous musicians like Scott Joplin were Missourians. My oldest aunt has told me the story of meeting Thomas Hart Benton when she was a little girl. She was visiting the Missouri State Capitol with her class and he was painting a mural. She recalls looking at the partially finished mural when Benton came up to her and asked whether she liked it or not. Not knowing he was a famous painter until later, she responded yes to which he asked what was her favorite part of the mural, and typical to many young girls she said her favorite part was the horses, to which he apparently chuckled. My aunt has never been one to lie so I believe the story, which is pretty darn neat. Below I've included a portion of one of Benton's murals in the state capitol that he may have been painting when my aunt met him. Also a picture of Benton painting.
(it is pretty small, I couldn't get it any larger)












Chapter 14:

-Problems with Neutrality
-Election of 1916
-America Enters the War
-War's Impact on Missouri
-Women's Suffrage
-Prohibition
-Politics: Republicans Take Control
-Election of 1922
-Pendergast Machine in Democratic Politics
-1924 Election and the Ku Klux Klan
-Election of 1926
-Election of 1928
-Road Building
-Charles A. Lindbergh: Hero
-Education
-The Economy and Depression

Of al these events: war, elections, fighting for rights, the two sections I found most interesting were Prohibition and the 1924 Election and the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan did not like the change America was experiencing at this time, forces such as urbanization, mechanization, and secularization intruded on their lives. For a period numbers in the Klan were very high but after the election of 1924 the Klan's numbers and influenced declined. People were rejecting the violence and racism inherent in the KKK. Prohibition occurred in 1919 with the passage of the 18th Amendment. My great-grandfather (yes, another family story) owned a tavern in St. Louis. When prohibition came along he ran it secretly out of the same building. To supplement his income he was the chief mechanic for the Cuckoo Gang. The gang earned a reputation for being "fast and willing shooters who would fight anyone, including themselves. Extortion from bootleggers and other gangs, robbery, kidnapping and murder for fun and profit were Cuckoo specialties." He fixed their cars up so that they would be able to out run the police so that they could run liquor and also just simply get away from crimes. By looking at my great-grandfather you would never have thought he would have been involved, even partially, in organized crime, but he did what he had needed to do to provide for his family. The picture  below is of the Birger Gang who were associates of the Cuckoo Gang.

Missouri: The Heart of the Nation

Summary: Chapters 11 and 12

Chapter 11

-Pony Express
-Railroads
-Pacific Railroad
-North Missouri Railroad
-Southwest Pacific Railroad
-St. Louis and Iron Mountain Railroad
-Missouri Valley Railroad
-Bridging the Missouri
-James B. Eads Spans the Mississippi
-Continued Railroad Construction
-The James Gang
-Population Growth
-Kansas City
-St. Louis
-Organized Labor
-Other Cities and Industries
-Telephone
-Agriculture

The years of 1860 to 1890, was a time of tremendous growth and expansion in Missouri. The railroad industry was a tremendous tool that helped Missouri grow. With the major rivers, like the Missouri and Mississippi bridged, the railroads provided access to the national markets. Connecting into this national railroad network helped to put cities like St. Louis and Kansas City on the economic and industrial map. In 1870, St. Louis emerged as the third most important manufacturing city in the country behind only New York and Philadelphia. "During the decade between 1860 and 1870 Missouri's manufacturing work force tripled and capital investment quadrupled." The important industries included iron, flour, beer, clothing, and furniture. The Anheuser Company, which became Anheuser-Busch, was perhaps the most well-known company to emerge from St. Louis at this time. My great grandfather actually working at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery for many years. He was a manager on the bottling line. That is why Missouri history is so interesting-it is personal. Below, I've included a picture of the brewery back in the day.




Chapter 12: Angry Farmers and Urban Reformers

-Background to Populism
-Third Parties
-The Alliance Movement
-Election of 1888
-Farmers Formulate a Program
-Missouri Farmers Split
-Election of 1892
-Panic of 1893
-Election of 1894
-Election of 1896
-The Interim Between Populists and Progressives: Governors Stephens and Dockery
-The Progressives
-Election of 1904
-Election of 1908
-Election of 1912


Chapter Twelve deals predominantly with elections, political turmoil, and reform. Missouri was a state that not only featured the major political parties, but also included third parties such as The People's party , the Union Labor party ,and the Greenbackers. This parties had a hard time gaining a foothold, and never received more than about ten percent of the vote in an election. Discontented farmers turned to organizations like the National Farmers' Alliance and Cooperative Union of America and the National Agricultural Wheel to help improve conditions. On the economic side of th coin, Missouri suffered very little damage due to the Panic of 1893. This all sets the stage for Missouri's cultural development in Chapter Thirteen.
Below I've included a picture of a meeting of Missouri farmers in one of the aforementioned organizations.

A Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck

Summary:

-Chapter 7 A Damn Fine Lawyer

-Chapter 8 St. Louis, Kennett and Southern and Allied Lines

-Chapter 9 Academic Hall

-Chapter 10 The Histories

-Chapter 11 Cape Girardeau Northern

-Chapter 12 The Big Ditch

-Chapter 13 A Quiet Religious Mood


Louis Houck is shown to be a very versatile and shrewd man as we continue on in Rhodes' work. His railroad expansion is perhaps his most well-documented accomplishment in the region, but Houck had his hands in so much more. Houck would play an immensely important role also in the growth and expansion of the Southeast Missouri Normal School. His part would be essential in helping the school literally rise from the ashes and grow. He made it practically his personal mission to make sure that the new Academic Hall was built through his work with W.S. Dearmont. Houck's work in writing histories of Missouri is also impressive. He described them as "a labor of love, absorbing for a long time nearly all my leisure hours-diverting my mind from business cares." Louis Houck helped to truly open Southeast Missouri with his involvement in the Little River Drainage District that cleared most of the land south of Cape Girardeau for use. The swamps and extensive river flooding was remedied by the building of levees, channels and other measures. Houck was a man of many talents, these self-taught talents made him rich but he was no miser, Houck was a philanthropist and gave large amounts of money back into the community. Throught reading Rhodes' work, I particularly enjoyed the discussion of the citizens gouging Houck on land prices in Ste. Genevieve and Perry counties. (p. 249) I've spent many years in the area near Minnith and Coffman and the people in this area still are very proud of the value of their land (which is very beautiful and the soil is fantastic for farming). It is interesting to know now that Houck played a part in shaping the history of the area where myself and my family have lived for generations.
Below, I've included some pictures of work in the Little River Drainage District to reclaim the dry land from the swamps.

A Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck

Summary:

-Chapter 1 Wanderjahre

-Chapter 2 Volksblatt

-Chapter 3 The Belle of Cape Girardeau

-Chapter 4 To Cogitate and To Dream: The Coming of the Railroad

-Chapter 5 The Houck Roads

-Chapter 6 Zwei Meinungen: Of Two Minds


The story of Louis Houck is one that truly embodies the American Dream. His father, an immigrant, and mother of modest means that instill in him the meaning of hard work and determination. Houck sought out his own education through apprenticeship because he realized the importance of being educated. His interest was sparked at a young age to study and eventually practice law. Houck's experience practicing law in St. Louis however was unsatisfactory to say the least. He saw it as "a well-financed Republican good-old-boy network" and decided to remove himself to more friendly environs in Cape Girardeau. It was during his practice of law in Southeast Missouri that he traveled hundreds of miles through the region. He realized from this the need for the expansion of the railroad systems in the region. Construction began in 1880 and by the end of that year an "unremarkable fifteen miles of track" had been laid between Cape Girardeau and Delta, but this would be the launching of what Rhodes would call a "remarkable career in railroading." Along his road to success he would lock horns with other railroad barons such as Jay Gould but would come out relatively unscathed. As his railroads were expanding throughout the region, Houck may not have been considered a Carnegie or a Rockefeller, but he was always looking to expand. Expand he would, at the turn of the century and we will see more in ensuing chapters of A Missouri Railroad Pioneer: The Life of Louis Houck.

Below, I've included some pictures of the railroads in Ste. Genevieve County that were part of the Frisco Lines. These railroads were the main form of transportation for the limestone, the major product of the county, that was mined in many locations across the county. Last two pictures are of a quarry and kiln.


The railroad depot in Weingarten. Missouri.




The depot in Ste. Genevieve.


The depot in Brickey's Landing along the Mississippi River.





This is what the lime kiln in Ste. Gen looks like today.

Missouri: The Heart of the Nation....Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Radical Rule

-Charles D. Drake
-The End of Slavery
-The Constitution of 1865
-Who Shall Vote?
-Purging the Courts
-Ratifying the Constitution
-Testing the Test Oath
-Election of 1866
-Lawlessness and Vigilantes
-Election Results: 1866
-The Equal Rights League
-J. Milton Turner
-The Problems of Freedom
-Radical Republicans and Education
-Teacher's Colleges
-University of Missouri
-Private Education
-Cultural and Sports Activities
-Religious and Other Organizations
-Newspapers
-The High Tide of Radicalism, 1868
-Carl Schurz
-Women's Suffrage
-Revision of the Test Oath
-The Liberal Republican Movement
-The Return of Democrats
-Election of 1874
-The Constitution of 1875

Although the Civil War ended in 1865, there was still a considerable amount of rancor and chaos in Missouri. Violence and lawlessness with emotions still high on both sides occurred mostly in the countryside. In the political realm Missouri had quite a bit of work to do also. With the election of a new governor, Thomas C. Fletcher, the state constitution would be revisited along with other items such as purging the courts of "un-loyal" officials. The coming to power of the Radicals Republicans who were able to gain a significant amount of political power, including the almost unlimited power to determine the loyalty of any individual wishing to register for voting. A positive in the post-war period, was the uniting of African Americans in Missouri. Many blacks formed groups like the Equal Rights League and received help from organizations such as the Freedmen's Bureau. Life was not easy for African Americans but conditions were getting better. Several interesting points in the chapter are the establishment of Teacher's Colleges and the mention of Carl Schurz. We know Southeast was founded as a teacher's college and has evolved into a much larger university, I have a great aunt who is 97 and she went to the Teacher's College in Cape nearly eight decades ago. I had heard of Carl Schurz before but not in relation to Missouri. I knew he was a Union general in the Civil War who was in command of a division under O.O. Howard in the 11th Corps but did not know he ended up settling in Missouri. Below, I've included a picture I found of St. Vincent's College in Cape, which is now on the River Campus ,and also a picture of Carl Schurz.

Missouri: The Heart of the Nation...Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Civil War

-The Election of 1860
-Missouri's Reaction to the Sectional Crisis
-The State Convention of March 1861
-The Outbreak of Civil War
-The Camp Jackson Affair
-Preparation for War
-The Flight of Governor Jackson
-The Establishment of the Provisional Government
-The Confederates Help Governor Jackson
-Wilson's Creek and Lexington
-Missouri Joins the Confederacy
-The Missouri State Militia
-Martial Law in Missouri
-Guerilla Warfare
-Order Number Eleven
-The Emancipation Issue
-The Western Sanitary Commission
-The Radical Union Party
-The Centralia Massacre
-Price's Raid
-The Election of 1864

As a border state, Missouri was a state divided. The 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln caused a large amount of division in the state. Governor Jackson with his pro-Confederate leanings and his supporters established Camp Jackson in St. Louis and was supplied with weapons from Baton Rouge. Union general Nathaniel Lyon cleared the dissenters out of St. Louis but not before twenty-eight people were killed. This lit the fuse for the war in Missouri, and the violence would last for many years to come. The state would have two governors, the Confederate governor Jackson, and the Union governor Gamble. Missouri was the site of the second most engagements in the Civil War, battles at places such as Wilson's Creek, Lexington, and Pilot Knob would have important strategic significance. Many people remember Missouri for its brutal guerilla warfare. "Bloody Bill" Anderson and Bill Quantrill are remembered as more prominent leaders of these guerillas and raiders. This is the aspect of war in Missouri I find most interesting. Through genealogical research in the last five years or so I have been able to that I am related to several members of Mosby's famed raiders in Virginia and also to Champ Ferguson, a Confederate raider in Kentucky and Tennessee who claimed to have personally killed over 100 Union soldiers and Union sympathizers. So I find this aspect of the Civil War in Missouri very interesting. Below, I've included pictures of Champ Ferguson, along with one of my relatives who served with Mosby. (Mosby is in the center with the plumed hat, my ancestor is two individuals directly right of him sitting with his arms draped over the raider in the front row who we believe is his brother.) Also I've thrown in pictures of Bloody Bill Anderson and William Quantrill.

Champ Ferguson


                                             Mosby's Raiders

                                                                                 ^
                                              


             "Bloody Bill" Anderson  and William Quantrill (2nd)                                                                   
                   

Missouri: The Heart of the Nation...Chapters 7 and 8

Chapter 7 Political Turmoil and the Kansas War

-The Jackson Resolutions
-The "Southern Address"
-Benton's Appeal
-Benton's Downfall
-The Election of 1852
-The Kansas-Nebraska Act
-The Struggle For Kansas
-The Legislative Deadlock Over the Senatorship
-The Proslavery Forces Win in Kansas
-The Kansas Free State Movement
-Violence Renewed
-The Election of 1856
-The Election of 1857
-Slavery Loses Out in Kansas
-The Dred Scott Case
-Debate Over Emancipation

The 1850s in Missouri are really a mirror for what is happening in the rest of the nation at this time. Political upheaval over slavery stretched nearly from coast to coast. The link between Kansas and Missouri at this time is very important. Many of the pro-slavery proponents thought that the establishment of Kansas as a slave state would help to maintain the survival of Missouri and many of the other southern states as slave states. This lead to the violence and chaos along the border between Missouri and Kansas. Below I've included a few political cartoons and newspaper articles. All of them are in support of Kansas as a free-state and depict pro-slavery individuals as ruffians and murderers.

Chapter 8: An Expanding Missouri, 1830-1860

-Population Explosion
-The Coming of the Immigrants
-The Early Urbanization of St. Louis
-Other Missouri Towns
-Steamboating on the Western Waters
-Overland Transportation
-The Coming of the Railroads

As the title of the chapter suggests, Missouri is growing over the thirty year period leading up to the Civil War. Missouri grew not only in population but in economic production. The large amount of immigrants from location such as Germany and Ireland boosted the state's population by over 100,000. This added a greater amount of cultural variety to the state also. The steamboat and railroad also played very important roles in the expansion and economic growth of Missouri. Although the railroad did not reach its full potential until after the war, it still played a major part in the state's growth, while the post-war period led to the rapid decline of the steamboats because the could not match how wide-spread the railroad could travel. The aspect of this time in Missouri history that I find perhaps most interesting is the steamboats on the rivers. My great-grandfather told many stories of living on Brickey's Landing in northern Ste. Genevieve County in the early 1900s where the steamboats would stop several times a week to drop off mail or supplies, or to get supplies. The interesting thing about Brickey's Landing is that the railroad also went through there and was an important part of life there too. My great-grandfather told many stories of cutting the ties for the railroad with his brother and dragging them back down from the river hills with their mules. Perhaps my favorite story of his about living on the river is that one morning very early around 1 or 2 a.m. the steamboat Cairo stopped to make a delivery of supplies. My great-grandfather and several other young men had to row out and pick up the supplies. One of the men was so agitated by being awakened from sleep that he said "That darn ship, I hope she sinks!" Well the next day the Cairo caught a snag south of Cape Girardeau and sank. I have a picture of the salvaged paddlewheel of the Cairo below. I also have some pictures of various steamboats docked in Cairo or moving along the river. The top picture is of Brickey's Landing, my great-grandfather's home is on the far right.