LOUISIANA, Mo. — History shows that the road to freedom came through Missouri.  Before he drafted a constitutional provision outlawing slavery, Pike County legislator John Brooks Henderson offered something even more radical.

In December 1862, the Missouri U.S. Senator suggested the federal government pay owners to give up their slaves.

The measure failed, but it kick-started discussion that would lead Henderson to draft and introduce the 13th Amendment.

Although a Southerner by birth, the senator was perfect for the role. He considered secession to be treason and slavery – not states’ rights – to be the cause of the Civil War.

Henderson’s impassioned speeches helped win converts and change the practical application of the U.S. Constitution.

The senator has largely been forgotten today, but many of his words still ring true. A bust of his image with a description of his exploits can be found at Henderson Riverview Park overlooking the Mississippi River in Louisiana.