The History and Possibilities of a St. Louis City-County Reunification

The mere mention of the St. Louis City, St. Louis County split, possible merger or re-joining elicits powerful responses in the St. Louis region. Joe provides an excellent overview of the history between St. Louis City and St. Louis County and why it's important to our future. Joe is a Junior at Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis. This article is a paper written for an AP History and English course. - Alex

On August 22nd, 1876, the citizens of Saint Louis decided that the city would secede from the county. That event was compared in 1978 by Howard F. Baer when he wrote, “This action was roughly the equivalent in economic consequence to England’s giving up the 13 colonies, only the city did it from choice, whereas Great Britain at least had the good sense to struggle, if but halfheartedly against the separation,” (252). Howard Baer’s quotation exemplifies the economic loss that the region has suffered for over a century now. Furthermore, this separation has caused much turmoil and anxiety throughout our region, thus the region has attempted several times over the past century to reunify the city and county. During his inaugural address, Mayor Francis Slay brought up the issue again. However this time, instead of proposing a full merger, Mayor Slay wants the city to be annexed by the county as another municipality. The need for our region to cooperate at a time like this could never be greater, as Saint Louis is at the crossroads of a rapidly changing global economy. To effectively boost economic development, save money, and make local government more efficient, the City of Saint Louis and Saint Louis County must reunite.