The Assembly Needs A Place To Assemble
- Like we've said, Congress was thorough when it finalized the Compromise.
- Part of this process was the establishment of a seat of governance: a state capitol. The convention is tasked with determining where, exactly, would make the best state capital. (Fun fact: the first capital of Missouri was St. Louis, and then St. Charles, and then Jefferson City…which has been the capital city since 1821. The more you know!)
- Section four is also the place where it's specified that this convention could form its own state constitution. It is interesting that Congress gave Missouri the option not to do so, since the whole point of the Compromise was to secure this very right.
- The Compromise then confers the right of the convention to establish its own electoral laws: how representatives would be portioned out, and how they would be chosen.
- Congress knew what it was doing here…sort of.
- They recognized that this could potentially go sour in a very real way. Laws in this time period weren't as thorough as they are today, and states would look for any leverage they could in getting revenue together and securing their position.
- So Congress put in a little caveat to the tremendous degree of freedom granted to the convention: the Compromise mandates that whatever government is decided by the convention will be allowed by Congress as long as it was: […] republican, and not repugnant to the constitution of the United States; and that the legislature of said state shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States, nor with any regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers ; and that no tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the United States ; and in no case shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents. (4.1)
- These were all ways of assuring that if Missouri tried to pull a fast one on Congress, Congress would be able to do something about it. Even the gung-ho states' rights folks weren't that enthusiastic about states' rights.