MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW, VOL- 2. OCTOBER, 1907. NO. 1 THE RETIREMENT OF THOMAS H. BENTON FROM THE SENATE AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE. * The most conspicuous and significant events in the history ©f the dissensions in the Democratic party in Missouri during the decade 1844-54 appear to have sprung from the bitter personal and political hostility existing between Senator Thomas H. Benton and John C. Calhoun, and from the clash between the views held by each with respect to Congressional power and policy in regard to slavery in the Territories. These events for the greater part center about the retirement of Thomas H. Benton from the Senate of the United States, and the struggle to bring about his restoration. (1) The causes of Senator Benton's retirement began to appear as early as 1844. (2) In the beginning, the principal •auses were his attitude toward Mr. Calhoun and the policies * This article is a condensation of two chapters in a more extended work, entitled, "The Genesis of the Repeal of the Missouri Compromise," upon which the author is now engaged. 1. 4 Provinces and States, 108. 2. 4 Provinces and States, 84.