1944 vs 2024
If you traveled more than 20 miles, back in 1944, you would most likely take a train.
In 1944, a gallon of milk was 63 cents, now $5.19 in 2024.
A loaf of bread was 9 cents, now $3.99.
The minimum wage in Missouri was 30 cents per hour, now $12.30 in 2024.
In 1944, the population of Missouri was 3.5 million, now 6.2 million.
There was no TV, no internet, no personal computers. Just over ⅓ of Missouri homes had a telephone. Farming was the number one occupation in Missouri, while less than 10% of farmers had phone service.
World War II was on everyone’s mind and on the daily radio newscast.
Still, a small group of Missouri citizens believed we needed a new rulebook for Missouri government. On September 28, 1944 they wrote the Missouri Constitution that we still use 79 years later. It was adopted and ratified on February 27, 1945.
Our constitution has 14 articles and lays out our state government with three branches just like the federal government. The executive is the governor. A bicameral legislature includes the house of representatives and senate. The constitution specifies the legislature is to be in session every year from January until May. The only constitutionally required bill is to pass an annual budget.
A quorum (simple majority of legislators) is required to conduct business. The constitution allows for some closed-door meetings, but the final vote of all legislation is to be in public at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City.
The 1944 drafters of our state constitution believed in the principle that government depends on the consent of the governed. The Constitution of Missouri states that "all political power is vested in and derived from the people; that all government of right originates from the people."
Article 1 Section 2 guarantees each Missouri citizen equal rights; “That all constitutional government is intended to promote the general welfare of the people; that all persons have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of the gains of their own industry; that all persons are created equal and are entitled to equal rights and opportunity under the law; that to give security to these things is the principal office of government, and that when government does not confer this security, it fails in its chief design.”
Things have changed a lot since 1944, but the principles of liberty and individual rights are timeless.
The legislative season is now underway in Jefferson City, Missouri. Your individual liberty and paycheck are at risk from now until May 17, 2024.
