This "exclusion clause" initially forestalled the US Congress admitting Missouri to the union, but was chosen to be interpreted in a deliberately vague manner as a "second" compromise.

This constitution took effect the day Missouri joined the union as the twenty-fourth state, August 10, 1821.

Instead, they operated as the de facto pro-Union government of Missouri when Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson and other politicians that supported the Confederacy fled from Jefferson City.

[2] The convention met from May 5 to August 2, and the resulting constitution provided for, among other things, separate schools for African-American children.

The ballot form permitted a separate vote on each amendment with a simple majority allowing adoption.

In the early 20th century, Missouri was dominated by corrupt political "bosses", such as Tom Pendergast of Kansas City.

On November 6, 2018, a constitutional amendment was passed that legalized and regulated medical marijuana (see Cannabis in Missouri).

It reads: We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness, do establish this Constitution for the better government of the state.