ADVERSITY

Many Depression-era federal relief programs were administered through local agencies. This application for loan of a milk cow indicated true destitution: six children, poor pasture, no grain or hay, but $2.50 obtainable in relief funds.

Courtesy of Cedar County Clerk and MSA.

The Agricultural Adjustment Agency provided materials for impoverished persons to make mattresses for themselves. This applicant had an income in 1940 of $150 and had not purchased a ready-made mattress within the last ten years.

Courtesy of Cedar County Clerk and MSA.

The Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, was a public works relief program for unmarried men. They were put to work building roads, planting trees, upgrading public parks, and building fire towers such as this one in southern Stone County c1937.

Courtesy of Library of Congress, Historic American Buildings Survey, #HABS MO-1913 mo1226.

The Carter County Courthouse was constructed by the Works Progress Administration in 1936. Its construction is distinctive for not being flat fieldstone like many other WPA buildings in Missouri. Smaller stones were decoratively placed under the gable and around window openings.

Source: RG600.2 Office of State Courts Administrators Photograph Collection, B. 3 F. 108-4.

Major earthquakes struck the area of New Madrid, Missouri a decade before statehood. Many settlers in the region were affected with loss of property and livelihood. Traveling through New Madrid in February of 1819, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft wrote, "The effects of these dreadful earthquakes are still visible…but the most striking alterations were made…in New Madrid County, the capital of which was, in part, precipitated into the Mississippi." Claims were made to the federal government for relief, such as this one by Francis Lesseur stating he sustained material injury.

Source: RG951 U.S. Recorder of Land Titles, New Madrid Certificates, #0009.

The summer of 1875 was horrific. Clouds of insects devoured everything: every growing plant and even garments on clotheslines. Wells were covered to prevent the insects from drowning and contaminating water supplies, but crops were beyond saving. Despairing people wrote to Governor Hardin begging for relief as their children starved.

Source: RG3.22 Charles Henry Hardin, 1875-1877 Collection, B. 7 F. 3. View the collection online.

The summer of 1875 was horrific. Clouds of insects devoured everything: every growing plant and even garments on clotheslines. Wells were covered to prevent the insects from drowning and contaminating water supplies, but crops were beyond saving. Despairing people wrote to Governor Hardin begging for relief as their children starved.

Source: RG3.22 Charles Henry Hardin, 1875-1877 Collection, B. 7 F. 3. View the collection online.

On the night of February 5, 1911, the dome of the Missouri State Capitol Building was struck by lightning. A fire broke out and soon engulfed the entire structure. Many of Missouri's early records were lost in this fire, making research of pre-1911 government documents difficult for today's historians.

Source: RG998 MS027 Thomas Garfield Cooper Collection, #02.

Heavy rains upstream in the Missouri River and Kansas River basins caused both bodies of water to swell and overflow their banks in the summer of 1951. The Missouri River in Kansas City crested at 46.2 feet, which was a record at the time. (It would be broken in 1993.) The Armourdale region of Kansas City suffered devastating loss. Pictured here is young Linda King who, two months after the waters receded, recovered her doll from the mud of her destroyed home.

RG998 MS336 Louise and Omar Putman Photograph Collection, #04_0078. View this photograph collection online.

The record-breaking flood of 1993 inundated the Missouri and Mississippi River basins. Over 17 million acres throughout nine states flooded, causing levee failures, billions of dollars in damage, and taking fifty lives. This aerial view of Jefferson City shows the flooding around the State Capitol Building. The flood level for the Missouri River in Jefferson City is 23 feet. On July 30, 1993, the River crested at 38.6 feet.

Source: RG107 Department of Transportation Photograph Collection.

Missouri is part of the so-called Tornado Alley that runs through the central United States. Every spring, summer and fall, several storms are strong enough to spawn tornadoes. Some of them are minor. Sadly, others are major disasters for Missourians and their property. One of the deadliest storms ever to roll through Missouri hit the town of Joplin on May 22, 2011 and killed 161 people. One year afterward, Dolores and Darrel Bilke painted a spirit tree as a memorial to the dead and their families.

Courtesy of Federal Emergency Management Agency. Photo by Christopher Mardorf. See this image and others at Missouri Disasters, 1785-Present.  

Every once in a while, a band of frozen precipitation cripples portions of Missouri. These ice storms knock out power and make travel from place to place difficult if not impossible. Pictured here is Kahoka, MO. This is possibly the ice storm of January 1911, which dropped 2 inches of frozen precipitation on Northeast Missouri.

Source: public domain.

For a long time, the northern border of Missouri was undefined and caught up in the courts. Some sixty Ioway Indians led by Moa-na-hon-ga (aka Great Walker or Big Neck) remained in Southeast Iowa after the rest of the tribe was relocated west. In 1829, Big Neck noticed some white settlers on land that he thought was Ioway. The settlers claimed it was part of Missouri. Because of the waffling northern border, it was unclear at that point who was right. Ultimately, the white settlers asked for help and the State Militia interceded. A battle ensued in which three Ioway and four Militiamen were killed. Big Neck was accused of murder, arrested, and brought to St. Louis for trial. The jury believed he acted in self-defense. He was acquitted in 1830 of all charges and allowed to return home.

Courtesy of Smithsonian American Art Museum, drawing by Charles Bird King. View the artist's collection online.

After several years of heated and deadly violence between Mormons and other residents, in October 1838 Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued his infamous Mormon Extermination Order: "The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace." Governor Christopher S. Bond officially rescinded the order in June 1976.

Source: RG5.1 Mormon War Papers. View the Mormon War exhibit online.

After several years of heated and deadly violence between Mormons and other residents, in October 1838 Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued his infamous Mormon Extermination Order: "The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace." Governor Christopher S. Bond officially rescinded the order in June 1976.

Source: RG5.1 Mormon War Papers. View the Mormon War exhibit online.

After several years of heated and deadly violence between Mormons and other residents, in October 1838 Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued his infamous Mormon Extermination Order: "The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace." Governor Christopher S. Bond officially rescinded the order in June 1976.

Source: RG5.1 Mormon War Papers. View the Mormon War exhibit online.

After several years of heated and deadly violence between Mormons and other residents, in October 1838 Governor Lilburn W. Boggs issued his infamous Mormon Extermination Order: "The Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from the state if necessary for the public peace." Governor Christopher S. Bond officially rescinded the order in June 1976.

Source: RG5.1 Mormon War Papers. View the Mormon War exhibit online.

Missouri's vaguely defined northern border was not firmed until 1851. Prior to that, both Iowans and Missourians had difficulty determining in which state they stood. When a Missouri man was fined $1.50 by an Iowa court for cutting down three bee trees in the no-man's land that both claimed, governors of Missouri and Iowa Territory called out their militias. This was Missouri's most peaceful "war" in which the only casualties were two deer. The soldiers shared whiskey and gambled with each other for about a month before the militias were sent home. This map is dated c1839 and shows the various northern boundaries of Missouri.

Courtesy of University of Missouri-St. Louis Mercantile Library. Find Honey War soldiers in MSA's online soldiers' database.

George A. Ridgeway was in Base Hospital #44 on November 11, 1918. His diary entry from that day records the excitement and relief felt by American and French soldiers at the "fini la guerre."

Source: RG998 MS494 George A. Ridgeway Collection.

The U.S. Treasury Department issued stamp books called United States Government Thrift Cards to civilians beginning in January 1918. Book owners were asked to purchase 16 25-cent Thrift Stamps and affix them to the inside of the book. When all 16 are collected, the owner could then take the book to his or her post office, bank, or other authorized agent and receive a War Savings Certificate Stamp worth $5.00 in return. The War Savings Certificate Stamp would then be paid out on January 1, 1923. This results in a net profit of one dollar for the civilian, but in the meantime, the U.S. Government could use the money from the initial stamp sales toward the war effort. This card belonged to Mary McGhee of Elsberry, MO.

Source: RG998 MS170 Federal Ration, Thrift, Tax etc. Stamp and Coupon Collection.

The U.S. Treasury Department issued stamp books called United States Government Thrift Cards to civilians beginning in January 1918. Book owners were asked to purchase 16 25-cent Thrift Stamps and affix them to the inside of the book. When all 16 are collected, the owner could then take the book to his or her post office, bank, or other authorized agent and receive a War Savings Certificate Stamp worth $5.00 in return. The War Savings Certificate Stamp would then be paid out on January 1, 1923. This results in a net profit of one dollar for the civilian, but in the meantime, the U.S. Government could use the money from the initial stamp sales toward the war effort. This card belonged to Mary McGhee of Elsberry, MO.

Source: RG998 MS170 Federal Ration, Thrift, Tax etc. Stamp and Coupon Collection.

Food and other commodities were scarce during World War I. The Lever Act supported the war effort by increasing the production of food and fuel and decreasing its domestic consumption. The Manuel Brothers, a retail grocery business in Shelby County, was investigated for selling sugar in 100-pound lots that would indicate profligate use. They were cleared of the accusation.

Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration, RG4 Records of the U.S. Food Administration, 1917-1920, Card Index to Enforcement Cases.

During Japanese internment during WWII, efforts were made to relocate college students to universities away from the West Coast. Chancellor Throop of Washington University, St. Louis, wrote, "these students, if American citizens, have exactly the same rights as other students who desire to register in the University." This page shows a list of Japanese-American students enrolled or applying to enroll at the University.

Courtesy of Washington University Libraries, Department of Special Collections, Japanese-American History in Saint Louis. View this collection online.

Camp Crowder, Newton County, opened in 1941. It provided signal corps, medical corps and ground force troop training, along with an Officer Candidate Preparatory School. The camp also housed a large number of World War II prisoners of war. Pictured are German POWs butchering meat for the camp in November 1944.

Source: RG998 MS262 Camp Crowder Photograph Collection, #107_004_004. View this photograph collection online.

Built in 1941 to treat wounded WWII soldiers, Springfield's O'Reilly Hospital was on the cutting edge of medical advances, such as plastic surgery for burns. It included several medical specialty schools and made prostheses on site. Before it closed in 1946, O'Reilly had treated 42,000 injured solders, some of them Italian and German prisoners of war.

Courtesy of Evangel University Archives.

President Bill Clinton proclaimed July 27, 2000 to be National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day. Accordingly, Governor Mel Carnahan signed Executive Order 00-17 that directed U.S. and state flags be flown at half-mast on that day. During the war years of 1950-1953, 944 Missourians lost their lives.

Source: RG5.04 Executive Orders. View executive orders from 1980-present online through the Missouri State Library.

Thousands of Missourians fought in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. This image shows the granite Korean War memorial on the grounds of the State Capitol Building. The stone is one part of the larger Veterans' Memorial north of the Capitol.

Source: RG395.2 Missouri State Capitol Commission Photograph Collection #RG395_Series3_054, courtesy of Missouri State Capitol Commission and MSA. Photo by Scott Thomas.

A Missouri soldier wrote this letter to his Joplin, MO family the month following the first peace talks in 1968. This was also the year the U.S. had the highest number of troops in Vietnam. President Richard Nixon began troop withdrawals in 1969, but not until the Paris Peace Agreement of January 1973 were all American solders withdrawn. Final fatal casualties from Missouri: 1,418.

Courtesy of Leslie Dingman James.

A Missouri soldier wrote this letter to his Joplin, MO family the month following the first peace talks in 1968. This was also the year the U.S. had the highest number of troops in Vietnam. President Richard Nixon began troop withdrawals in 1969, but not until the Paris Peace Agreement of January 1973 were all American solders withdrawn. Final fatal casualties from Missouri: 1,418.

Courtesy of Leslie Dingman James.

The role of the Missouri National Guard expanded drastically after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In addition to their stateside missions, members of the Missouri National Guard have served overseas in multiple countries, including Afghanistan and Iraq.

Source: RG000.133 Department of Public Safety State Document Collection.

Designed to penetrate anti-aircraft defenses and fly undetected, the B-2 bomber can carry both conventional and nuclear bombs. Its 'flying wing' design carries only two crew members. It was used in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. The Stealth fleet is based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Johnson County. Here, a B-2 Spirit from the 509th Bomb Wing lifts off from a Whiteman runway on July 25, 2013.

Courtesy of U.S. Air Force, photo by Staff Sgt. Nick Wilson.

In 1861, Missouri Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson, a pro-southern secessionist, vacated Jefferson City with several legislators ahead of a Union advance under General Nathaniel Lyon. Jackson's unrecognized government later convened in Neosho, where they passed an Ordinance of Secession in October 1861. Pictured here is the front page of the Senate Journal of the Rebel Legislature.

Courtesy of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. View the journal online.

Those men who were rich enough to pay their way out of serving in the Civil War could do just that, and do it legally. The catch was that the person paying had to find someone to serve in his place: a substitute. This record book records the names of the person paying, the substitute's name, and more.

Source: RG133 Adjutant General B. 172.

Smith Crim of Barry County was tried by a military court for the murder of Union Lt. Miller. Crim recounted how he and Hugh McBride shot Miller, took his clothes, horse and money, ate dinner then went home. Crim was found guilty and sentenced to be shot. President Lincoln ultimately upheld the sentence.

Source: Union Provost Marshal reel #F1244. (Original at NARA) Search the Provost Marshal Database online.

Smith Crim of Barry County was tried by a military court for the murder of Union Lt. Miller. Crim recounted how he and Hugh McBride shot Miller, took his clothes, horse and money, ate dinner then went home. Crim was found guilty and sentenced to be shot. President Lincoln ultimately upheld the sentence.

Source: Union Provost Marshal reel #F1244. (Original at NARA) Search the Provost Marshal Database online.

Smith Crim of Barry County was tried by a military court for the murder of Union Lt. Miller. Crim recounted how he and Hugh McBride shot Miller, took his clothes, horse and money, ate dinner then went home. Crim was found guilty and sentenced to be shot. President Lincoln ultimately upheld the sentence.

Source: Union Provost Marshal reel #F1244. (Original at NARA) Search the Provost Marshal Database online.

Smith Crim of Barry County was tried by a military court for the murder of Union Lt. Miller. Crim recounted how he and Hugh McBride shot Miller, took his clothes, horse and money, ate dinner then went home. Crim was found guilty and sentenced to be shot. President Lincoln ultimately upheld the sentence.

Source: Union Provost Marshal reel #F1244. (Original at NARA) Search the Provost Marshal Database online.

Smith Crim of Barry County was tried by a military court for the murder of Union Lt. Miller. Crim recounted how he and Hugh McBride shot Miller, took his clothes, horse and money, ate dinner then went home. Crim was found guilty and sentenced to be shot. President Lincoln ultimately upheld the sentence.

Source: Union Provost Marshal reel #F1244. (Original at NARA) Search the Provost Marshal Database online.

Smith Crim of Barry County was tried by a military court for the murder of Union Lt. Miller. Crim recounted how he and Hugh McBride shot Miller, took his clothes, horse and money, ate dinner then went home. Crim was found guilty and sentenced to be shot. President Lincoln ultimately upheld the sentence.

Source: Union Provost Marshal reel #F1244. (Original at NARA) Search the Provost Marshal Database online.

Smith Crim of Barry County was tried by a military court for the murder of Union Lt. Miller. Crim recounted how he and Hugh McBride shot Miller, took his clothes, horse and money, ate dinner then went home. Crim was found guilty and sentenced to be shot. President Lincoln ultimately upheld the sentence.

Source: Union Provost Marshal reel #F1244. (Original at NARA) Search the Provost Marshal Database online.

Smith Crim of Barry County was tried by a military court for the murder of Union Lt. Miller. Crim recounted how he and Hugh McBride shot Miller, took his clothes, horse and money, ate dinner then went home. Crim was found guilty and sentenced to be shot. President Lincoln ultimately upheld the sentence.

Source: Union Provost Marshal reel #F1244. (Original at NARA) Search the Provost Marshal Database online.

With this August 30, 1861 proclamation, Major-General John C. Frémont put the administration of justice throughout the state under the jurisdiction of the federal military authorities to be administered by provost marshals. Because of wartime conditions, local courts operated sporadically, and Missouri effectively became a military state.

Courtesy of Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, Collection #B198, identifier #D05391.

Missouri was a particularly bloody theatre of the American Civil War. Both sides committed war crimes against civilians, prisoners of war, and unarmed combatants. This map of the town of Palmyra in 1860 shows the location of the fairgrounds where ten alleged Confederate sympathizers were executed by Union authorities on October 18, 1862, an atrocity that is known as the "Palmyra Massacre." The civilians were shot in retaliation for the assumed death of Union sympathizer Andrew Alsman.

Courtesy of the City Clerk of Palmyra

On September 27, 1864 a band of guerillas led by William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson captured twenty three Union soldiers in Centralia. Anderson asked for a volunteer; Sergeant Thomas Goodman stepped forward under the assumption that he would be shot. Instead Anderson's band of guerrillas massacred the remaining Union soldiers. Sergeant Goodwin went on to write about the Centralia Massacre in his book A Thrilling Record, Founded on Facts and Observations Obtained During Then Days' Experience with Colonel William T. Anderson.

Courtesy of The State Historical Society of Missouri.

Unable to gain the upper hand against guerrillas on the Missouri-Kansas border, General Thomas Ewing issued General Order No. 11 in August 1863. Rural residents of Jackson, Cass, Bates and northern Vernon County who could not prove their loyalty were ordered to vacate the district within fifteen days. All grain and hay was to be taken to refuge cities or destroyed. The area became known as the Burnt District after fires destroyed many of the abandoned properties.

Courtesy of Cincinnati Art Museum, painting by George Caleb Bingham.

The 1862 Act Prohibiting the Return of Slaves forbade the Union Army to return escaped slaves to their masters. Such slaves who made their way into Union camps ended up either working for the Army or receiving so-called "certificates of contraband" and being set free. Freed slaves had a difficult time making a living, as this 1864 letter from the Kansas City Missionary of Freedmen explains. The author is requesting aid.

Source: Union Provost Marshal reel #F1241. (Original at NARA) Search the Provost Marshal Database online.

The 1862 Act Prohibiting the Return of Slaves forbade the Union Army to return escaped slaves to their masters. Such slaves who made their way into Union camps ended up either working for the Army or receiving so-called "certificates of contraband" and being set free. Freed slaves had a difficult time making a living, as this 1864 letter from the Kansas City Missionary of Freedmen explains. The author is requesting aid.

Source: Union Provost Marshal reel #F1241. (Original at NARA) Search the Provost Marshal Database online.

Beginning in 1863, African-American men could join segregated units called the United States Colored Troops, or USCT, and fight for the Union. Over 8,300 African-Americans from Missouri served during the Civil War. This descriptive list is for George W. Reynolds of Clay County.

Source: RG133.31 USCT Regimental Returns B. 1 F. 82. Browse Missouri's USCT descriptive lists online.

Beginning in 1863, African-American men could join segregated units called the United States Colored Troops, or USCT, and fight for the Union. Over 8,300 African-Americans from Missouri served during the Civil War. This descriptive list is for George W. Reynolds of Clay County.

Source: RG133.31 USCT Regimental Returns B. 1 F. 82. Browse Missouri's USCT descriptive lists online.

Officers (commissioned and non-commissioned) in Missouri and Federal units were required to take oaths of loyalty to the United States during the Civil War. Often civilians accused of aiding the Confederacy were also required to take oaths as well as post a pricey bond assuring they would not break the oath's terms. This oath is for a non-commissioned officer - a surgeon - of the 5th Missouri State Militia Cavalry, Joel H. Warren.

Source: RG133.17 MSM Regimental Returns B. 10 F. 61. Search civilian oaths in the Union Provost Marshal database online.

The ordinance to abolish slavery was passed in Missouri in January 1865, eleven months before the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified. The ordinance was passed by the Constitutional Convention and abolished slavery in the State of Missouri. Shown is the original ordinance, which was rescued from the 1911 Missouri Capitol fire.

Source: RG133.17 MSM Regimental Returns B. 10 F. 61. Search civilian oaths in the Union Provost Marshal database online.

Missouri approved a new Constitution in 1865, nicknamed the Drake Constitution for its primary author Charles Drake. Part of the new Constitution was a section called the Ironclad Oath. Any professional (teacher, physician, attorney, military, elected official, etc.) wishing to work in Missouri had to take the Oath swearing that he or she did not aid the Confederacy in any way during the Civil War. Anyone who did not sign the Oath was not permitted to work in their profession.

Source: RG133.15 Adjutant General Records B. 4 F. 36. View the Drake Constitution online.

Missouri approved a new Constitution in 1865, nicknamed the Drake Constitution for its primary author Charles Drake. Part of the new Constitution was a section called the Ironclad Oath. Any professional (teacher, physician, attorney, military, elected official, etc.) wishing to work in Missouri had to take the Oath swearing that he or she did not aid the Confederacy in any way during the Civil War. Anyone who did not sign the Oath was not permitted to work in their profession.

Source: RG133.15 Adjutant General Records B. 4 F. 36. View the Drake Constitution online.

The heartache of the Civil War endured long after the fighting ended. In 1899, Mrs. Leuisa Willison wrote the Adjutant General asking about her husband, saying she "will be very thankful to hear of his fate." Unfortunately, her husband, recorded as Nelson Wilson, had died on April 4, 1864.

Source: RG133.31 USCT Regimental Returns B. 1 F. 77.

People with communicable diseases such as smallpox were sometimes treated in quarantine. The places of quarantine were variously called pest houses, camps, ranches, or sanatoriums. This 1882 inspection report on the Independence smallpox ranch finds it satisfactory.

Courtesy of Independence City Clerk.

People with communicable diseases such as smallpox were sometimes treated in quarantine. The places of quarantine were variously called pest houses, camps, ranches, or sanatoriums. This 1882 inspection report on the Independence smallpox ranch finds it satisfactory.

Courtesy of Independence City Clerk.

The 1880s were high point for the use of mineral springs as founts of healing. Resort towns both large and small grew up around these springs. Excelsior Springs in Jackson County is one such site. Pictured here are Dr. A.S. McCleary and his patients. The second image shows visitors to El Dorado Springs in Cedar County. Park Hotel is in the background.

Sources: RG998 MS476 Callaway County History Collection, M-3-4 and Missouri State University Special Collections, El Dorado Springs Community Photo Collection #MOU_SC-M-012_29l. 

The 1880s were high point for the use of mineral springs as founts of healing. Resort towns both large and small grew up around these springs. Excelsior Springs in Jackson County is one such site. Pictured here are Dr. A.S. McCleary and his patients. The second image shows visitors to El Dorado Springs in Cedar County. Park Hotel is in the background.

Sources: RG998 MS476 Callaway County History Collection, M-3-4 and Missouri State University Special Collections, El Dorado Springs Community Photo Collection #MOU_SC-M-012_29l. 

Not every institution is scientifically-oriented. The Dr. Nichols Sanatorium in Savannah, MO, purported to treat cancer. It opened in 1914 and continued operation for several decades. Investigations in 1933 and 1943 both determined that many patients were falsely diagnosed and that the Nichols "escharotic method" of treatment did nothing but scar the patients' skin.

Courtesy of Linda Myers.

An 1846 outbreak of cholera in the Ganges River delta of India turned into a worldwide pandemic, fueled by international trade and immigration. The water-borne bacterial disease reached St. Louis in 1849, where it killed over 4,500 people in that year. The 1850 Census Mortality Schedule shows the impact of the pandemic in antebellum Missouri.

Source: Joint digitization project with MSA and the Missouri History Museum, St. Louis. Read more about special census schedules online.