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Historical Revie^Ar The State Historical Society of Missouri COLUMBIA, MISSOURI BOARD OF EDITORS LAWRENCE 0. CHRISTENSEN SUSAN M. HARTMANN University of Missouri-Rolla Ohio State University, Columbus WILLIAM E. FOLEY ALAN R. HAVIG Central Missouri State University, Stephens College, Warrensburg Columbia JEAN TYREE HAMILTON DAVID D. MARCH Marshall Kirksville ARVARH E. STRICKLAND University of Missouri-Columbia COVER DESCRIPTION: This new portrait of Dr. Richard S. Brownlee, former director of the State Historical Society, 1960-1985, was unveiled, May 11, 1991, at a special meeting of the Society. A 21V2" x 23^" oil on linen, it was painted by Sidney Larson, art curator of the State Historical Society. Larson remarked that this work was much more interesting and pleasurable because of his many years of personal and professional relationships with Richard Brownlee. The portrait hangs on permanent display in the reference library, beside a portrait of Dr. Floyd Shoemaker, former director of the Society, 1915-1960. MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW Published Quarterly by THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA, MISSOURI JAMES W. GOODRICH EDITOR MARY K. DAINS ASSOCIATE EDITOR LYNN WOLF GENTZLER ASSOCIATE EDITOR LEONA S. MORRIS RESEARCH ASSISTANT Copyright © 1991 by the State Historical Society of Missouri 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, Missouri 65201 The Missouri Historical Review (ISSN 0026-6582) is owned by The State Historical Society of Missouri and is published quarterly at 10 South Hitt, Columbia, Missouri 65201. Send communications, business and editorial correspondence and change of address to the State Historical Society of Missouri, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201. Second class postage is paid at Columbia, Missouri. SOCIETY HOURS: The Society is open to the public from 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M., VOLUME LXXXVI Monday through Friday, and Saturday from 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M., except legal holidays. NUMBER 1 Holiday Schedule: The Society will be closed Saturday during the Memorial Day, Labor Day and Thanksgiving weekends. OCTOBER, 1991 THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI The State Historical Society of Missouri, heretofore organized under the laws of the State, shall be the trustee of this State—Laws of Missouri, 1899, R.S. of Mo., 1969, chapter 183, as revised 1978. OFFICERS 1989-1992 ROBERT C. SMITH, Columbia, President Avis TUCKER, Warrensburg, First Vice President SHERIDAN A. LOGAN, St. Joseph, Second Vice President VIRGINIA G. YOUNG, Columbia, Third Vice President NOBLE E. CUNNINGHAM, Columbia, Fourth Vice President R. KENNETH ELLIOTT, Kansas City, Fifth Vice President ROBERT G.J. HOESTER, Kirkwood, Sixth Vice President ALBERT M. PRICE, Columbia, Treasurer JAMES W. GOODRICH, Columbia, Executive Director, Secretary and Librarian TRUSTEES Permanent Trustees, Former Presidents of the Society WILLIAM AULL III, Lexington RUSH H. LIMBAUGH, Cape Girardeau FRANCIS M. BARNES III, Kirkwood LEO J. ROZIER, Perryville WILLIAM R. DENSLOW, Trenton JOSEPH WEBBER, St. Louis Term Expires at Annual Meeting, 1991 JAMES W. BROWN, Harrisonville BOB PRIDDY, Jefferson City ILUS W. DAVIS, Kansas City DALE REESMAN, Boonville JOHN K. HULSTON, Springfield ARVARH E. STRICKLAND, Columbia JAMES C. OLSON, Kansas City BLANCHE M. TOUHILL, St. Louis Term Expires at Annual Meeting, 1992 MRS. SAMUEL A. BURK, Kirksville DOYLE PATTERSON, Kansas City RICHARD DECOSTER, Canton STUART SYMINGTON, JR., St. Louis JEAN TYREE HAMILTON, Marshall ROBERT WOLPERS, Poplar Bluff W. ROGERS HEWITT, Shelbyville DALTON C. WRIGHT, Lebanon Term Expires at Annual Meeting, 1993 HENRIETTA AMBROSE, Webster Groves FREDERICK W. LEHMANN IV, H. RILEY BOCK, New Madrid Webster Groves LAWRENCE O. CHRISTENSEN, Rolla GEORGE MCCUE, St. Louis ROBERT S. DALE, Carthage WALLACE B. SMITH, Independence BOARD OF TRUSTEES The Board of Trustees consists of one Trustee from each Congressional District of the State and fourteen Trustees elected at large. In addition to the elected Trustees, the President of the Society, the Vice Presidents of the Society, all former Presidents of the Society, and the ex officio members of the Society constitute the Board of Trustees. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Eight Trustees elected by the Board of Trustees together with the President of the Society constitute the Executive Committee. The Executive Director of the Society serves as an ex officio member. WILLIAM AULL III, Lexington, Chairman ROBERT C. SMITH, Columbia FRANCIS M. BARNES III, Kirkwood BLANCHE M. TOUHILL, St. Louis H. RILEY BOCK, New Madrid Avis TUCKER, Warrensburg JAMES C. OLSON, Kansas City JOSEPH WEBBER, St. Louis VIRGINIA G. YOUNG, Columbia EDITORIAL POLICY The editors of the Missouri Historical Review welcome submission of articles and documents relating to the history of Missouri. Any aspect of Missouri history will be considered for publication in the Review. Genealogical studies, however, are not accepted because of limited appeal to general readers. Manuscripts pertaining to all fields of American history will be considered if the subject matter has significant relevance to the history of Missouri or the West. Authors should submit two double-spaced copies of their manuscripts. The footnotes, prepared according to The Chicago Manual of Style, also should be double-spaced and placed at the end of the text. Authors may submit manu scripts on PC/DOS, 360K floppy disk. The disk must be IBM compatible, preferably the WordPerfect 5.1 or Display- write 3 or 4 programs. Otherwise, it must be in ASCII format. Two hard copies still are required, and the print must be letter or near-letter quality. Dot matrix submissions will not be accepted. Originality of subject, general interest of the article, sources used, interpretation and style are criteria for acceptance and publication. Manuscripts should not exceed 7,500 words. Articles that are accepted for publication be come the property of The State Historical Society of Missouri and may not be published elsewhere without permission. The Society does not accept responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by the authors. Articles published in the Review are abstracted and indexed in Historical Abstracts, America: History and Life, Recently Published Articles, Writings on American History, The Western Historical Quarterly and The Journal of Ameri can History. Manuscripts submitted for the Review should be ad dressed to: Dr. James W. Goodrich, Editor Missouri Historical Review The State Historical Society of Missouri 1020 Lowry Street Columbia, Missouri 65201 CONTENTS THE FRANKLIN DEBATE SOCIETY: CULTURE ON THE MISSOURI FRONTIER. By Louis W. Potts 1 "Ho, FOR KANSAS": THE SOUTHWEST EXPEDITION OF 1860. By Phillip T. Tucker 22 NATHANIEL C. BRUCE, BLACK EDUCATION AND THE "TUSKEGEE OF THE MIDWEST." By Patrick J. Huber and Gary R. Kremer 37 ADMIRAL SIDNEY W. SOUERS AND PRESIDENT TRUMAN. By Sara L, Sale 55 HISTORICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS Buse Historical Collection Donated to Society 72 News in Brief 73 Local Historical Societies 75 Gifts 84 Missouri History in Newspapers 88 Missouri History in Magazines 94 In Memoriam 100 BOOK REVIEWS 101 BOOK NOTES 109 NATIONAL REGISTER SITES: BURKHOLDER-O'KEEFE HOUSE Inside Back Cover State Historical Society of Missouri The Franklin Debate Society: Culture on the Missouri Frontier BY LOUIS W. POTTS* On January 13, 1843, the Franklin Debate Society confronted organizational problems. Located along the western Missouri frontier in Washington Township of Clay County, the members determined to select a motto and devise a goal for their voluntary association. For the former, they chose "truth and each other's good"; for the latter, "that Harmony and Friendship characterise all our proceedings [crossed out in original] deliberations."1 Secretary Rufus W. Finley duly recorded these credos in the minute book created by the society at least a month •Louis W. Potts is associate professor and chair of history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He has the B.A. degree from Lafayette College, Easton, Pennysl- vania, and the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history from Duke University. 1 Franklin Debate Society Minutebook, 13 January 1843, Culbertson Collection, Watkins Mill State Historic Site, Lawson, Missouri. Hereafter cited as FDSM. The notebook measures 1" x 13" and has entries for 86 (unnumbered) pages. Some front and back sheets have been removed. 2 Missouri Historical Review earlier. The men present had high aspirations for their organization. In the period for which documentation exists (December 16, 1842, through January 6, 1846), the society and its auxiliary, the Franklin Library Association, played an integral part in life on the frontier. In the rural region, the society pulled members from three adjoining counties. Annual calls went out for "leaders of the neighborhood" to attend.2 Values reinforced in the weekly disputations indicated norms for the region. The Franklin Debate Society provided structure and worth to the lives of its participants. The role of voluntary associations in the Jacksonian era has intrigued numerous observers and interpreters from Alexis de Tocque- ville to the present. A decade ago Don Doyle noted how nonsectarian, nonpartisan and not-for-profit organizations provided social order in midwestern frontier communities: "Whatever their explicit mission, all of these voluntary associations performed very special covert roles by integrating community leaders, enhancing individual opportunity, safe guarding the middle-class family, and serving as schools that taught organizational skills and