Yesterday we blogged about the passage of a law that established the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. Today, we highlight the abolishment of imprisonment for unpaid debt. In his 1842 message to the general assembly, Governor Thomas Reynolds presented the dilemma of recent federal bankruptcy laws. Now a person with unpaid debt could declare bankruptcy to avoid the debt or face imprisonment under Missouri's debtor laws. Neither case would help resolve the unpaid debt.
In December 1842, the Missouri Senate passed a bill introduced by Benjamin P. Major calling for the abolishment of imprisonment for debt. The House bill introduced by Thomas B. Hudson passed with much debate and amendment. On January 17, 1843, a bill that passed both chambers was signed into law by Governor Reynolds.
Source- Shoemaker, Floyd Calvin. Missouri Day by Day, Volume 1. Columbia, MO: State Historical Society of Missouri, 1942.
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