Hamilton R. Gamble and the provisional government of Missouri

Abstract

In order to present an intelligible account of the necessity of a Provisional Government in Missouri; and the policies, actions, and results of such a government, it will be necessary to devote attention, to the political situation beginning with 1860. The whole country, and especially the South, considered the elections of that year as marking the crisis which for some years all had felt to be impending. The results of those elections began to make it plain to men, especially in the border-states, that it would soon be incumbent on them to choose their positions. The positions taken by prominent Missourians, and the deliberation with which they were assumed must be understood, in some degree, in order to appreciate fully the work of the so-called "Gamble" Government.