THE POLITICAL TRANSITION OF
JAMES S. ROLLINS
BY JOHN MERING*
The process by which James S. Rollins became a Whig, a Know-
Nothing, a Constitutional Unionist, a Democrat, and finally a
Republican reflects both the shifts in the Missouri political scene
during the pre- and post- Civil War era and the development of his
own interests and temperament.
whig, 1836-1855
Rollins' first political office was won as a Whig when he was
elected representative from Boone County to the Missouri House in
1838. By 1856 he had served three terms in that body and one in
the State Senate, all under the
same political affiliation. Moreover, he had been the Whig
candidate for governor in 1848
and that party's choice for
United States Senator in 1849.1
Rollins' consistent Whiggery
was first marred early in the
1850's as a result of the internal
dissension within both the Whig
and Democratic parties over the
extension of slavery. Thomas
Hart Benton, running for reelection to the United States
Senate in 1850 as a Democrat,
found himself nearing agreement
with Missouri Whigs, including
Rollins, who, although he was
by no means an abolitionist, favored support of the Federal Government and opposed the extreme Southern positions on slavery and
the nature of the union. Recognizing this kindred interest, Rollins
wrote Benton in August of 1850 that he would be preferred by the
Whigs if they were unable to elect one of their own number.2 How-
*John V. Mering, B.S., M.A., University of Missouri, currently is an instructor in American
history and is enrolled in the graduate school at the University.
^Howard Glyndon, Notable Men in "the House" (New York, 1862), 30; North Todd Gentry,
The Bench and Bar of Boone County Missouri (Columbia, 1916), 51.
2Rollins to Thomas Hart Benton, August 31, 1850, Rollins Manuscript Collection, State
Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.
217
G> C. Bingham portrait, courtesy Mrs. Ruth
Rollins Westfall
James S. Rollins at 21
