Editing History of Missouri (section)

===Political upheaval during the war===
In 1861 Union General [[John C. Fremont]] issued a proclamation that freed slaves who had been owned by those that had taken up arms against the Union. Lincoln immediately reversed this unauthorized action. Secessionists tried to form their own state government, joining the Confederacy and establishing a [[Confederate government of Missouri|Confederate government in exile]] first in [[Neosho, Missouri|Neosho]], Missouri and later in Texas (at [[Marshall, Texas]]). By the end of the war, Missouri had supplied 110,000 troops for the [[United States Army|Union Army]] and 40,000 troops for the [[Confederate Army]].<ref>Piston, William Barrett. [https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/battle-wilsons-creek-and-struggle-missouri#:~:text=Some%2040%2C000%20Missouri%20Confederates%20fought,his%20march%20to%20the%20sea. The Battle of Wilson's Creek and the Struggle for Missouri]. ''American Battlefield Trust''. Retrieved January 30, 2021.</ref>

During the Civil War [[Charles D. Drake]], a former Democrat, became a fierce opponent of slavery, and a leader of the [[Radical Republicans]]. In 1861 to 1863 he proposed without success the immediate and uncompensated emancipation of slaves. He was defeated by the conservative Republicans led by Governor [[Hamilton Gamble]] and supported by President Abraham Lincoln. By 1863 Drake had built up his Radical faction and called for immediate emancipation, a new constitution, and a system of systematic disfranchisement of all Confederate sympathizers in Missouri.