At the time the population and state of Missouri were relatively neutral in the dispute between North and South, but Governor Claiborne F. Jackson was a strong Southern sympathizer, as were many of the state legislators.
No tempo a poboación e o estado de Missouri era relativamente neutro na disputa entre Norte e Sur, mais o gobernador Claiborne Fox Jackson era un destacado simpatizante sureño, como tamén o eran moitos dos lexisladores estatais.