Missouri Germans Consortium

AN ORDINANCE ABOLISHING SLAVERY IN MISSOURI Be it ordained by People of the State of Missouri, in Convention assembled That hereafter, in this State, there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except in punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted; and all persons held to service or labor as slaves are hereby declared free.

January 11, 1865

On January 11, 1865 Missouri freed their enslaved. The State’s constitution allowed slavery with the Missouri Compromise, as it gained statehood on August 10, 1821. Many would later reflect as this was the beginning of the “War between the States” otherwise known today as the Civil War. German born Arnold Krekel was President of the Constitutional Congress that would end slavery in the State of Missouri forever.

On Monday, January 11, 2021 join historian Dorris Keeven-Franke as she shares Missouri’s Emancipation Day. This virtual presentation at 1:00 pm CDT, will share the German American’s role in Missouri’s history as they worked to see slavery ended and freedom granted to all. Join us online at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84577524624. The program is free and available to everyone. Please share!

This event is being held in honor of the Missouri Bicentennial .

Dorris Keeven-Franke is an award-winning writer, public historian, educator, and professional genealogist. A lifelong resident of Missouri, she resides in Saint Charles County and writes about the history of Missouri, its’ German American immigrants and African Americans. Her forthcoming book is the biography of Archer Alexander being written with the Alexander family.