James S. Rollins
James S. Rollins | |
---|---|
Missouri Legislature | |
In office 1838 1840 1854 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Richmond, Kentucky | April 19, 1812
Died | Columbia, Missouri | January 9, 1888 (aged 75)
Political party | Whig Constitutional Union Unionist Democratic Republican |
Spouse | Mary Elizabeth Rollins |
Signature | |
James Sidney Rollins (April 19, 1812 – January 9, 1888) was a nineteenth-century Missouri politician and lawyer. He helped establish the University of Missouri, led the successful effort to get it located in Boone County, and gained funding for the university with the passage of a series of acts in the Missouri Legislature. For his efforts, he was named "Father of the University of Missouri."[1]
As a
Early years and family
Rollins was born in Richmond, in Madison County, Kentucky. His father, Anthony Wayne Rollins, a physician, was born in Pennsylvania of Scotch-Irish immigrant parents, and named for the Revolutionary War hero Anthony Wayne. His mother, Sarah Harris Rodes Rollins, was born in Virginia and was of English descent.
Rollins studied at Richmond Academy, attended Washington College (now
In 1837, Rollins married Mary Elizabeth Hickman (1820–1907). She was the daughter of James Hickman, and was from Franklin, in nearby Howard County, Missouri. They had 11 children, seven of whom survived to adulthood.
Early political career
Rollins began his political career as a Whig. His politics reflected his interest in business and resource development. In 1836, he purchased a Whig newspaper, the Columbia Patriot, which he edited for several years. That same year, he attended a railroad convention in St. Louis, where he was chosen to petition Congress for Missouri railroad land grants.[5]
Missouri legislator
Rollins was elected to the
When the Whig Party ended, Rollins began a political transition. He ran as an independent in his second try for governor, supported by
Establishment of the University of Missouri
The first bill that Rollins drafted as a State Representative was to locate the University of Missouri. The bill directed that the university be located in one of six counties in the central part of the state along the
Rollins' act directed that the county that raised the most money would be awarded the university. Rollins himself made a significant donation, and put considerable effort into raising subscriptions from fellow Boone County residents. The competition was most intense among Boone, Callaway, and Howard Counties. When state commissioners visited Howard County, Rollins was there. After learning that Howard County had increased the appraised value of land donated in the competition, Rollins sold 222 acres (0.90 km2) of his own land to Boone County for $25 an acre. Boone County in turn appraised the land at $75 an acre in its bid. The $117,921 raised by Boone County was the highest amount, and won the university.[9]
Rollins' efforts to support the University of Missouri met with limited success before the Civil War. As Senator, he drafted a report in 1847 which proposed state funding for the school and a professorship for advanced studies in "Theory and Practice of Teaching." The Senate passed a version two years later, providing no funding and only a "Normal Professorship."[10]
U.S. Representative and the Thirteenth Amendment
Rollins was elected to Congress in 1860 as a Constitutional Unionist. He defeated Independent Democrat John B. Henderson. Rollins was elected again in 1862, this time as a Unionist, defeating Radical Republican Arnold Krekel.
During the Civil War, Rollins remained a Unionist, and voted for most war measures in Congress. But his stands on slavery and African-American rights were more conservative than those of the dominant Republican Party. He opposed a measure allowing blacks and Indians to enlist in the war, on the basis that this policy would offend Southerners.[11] He also stated that the Emancipation Proclamation was legally void, and only defensible as a military necessity.[12]
In Congress, Rollins introduced a bill to build a transcontinental railroad, passed as the
Rollins' support of the
Rollins witnessed the Centralia Massacre in 1864.[17]
Later political career
Rollins did not run for Congress in 1864, but returned to Columbia. In that year's presidential election, he endorsed the
Rollins' support of business aligned with Republican policies, but his opposition to
While a legislator, Rollins focused on the University of Missouri. The state was not funding the school. The Civil War left the university in poor physical shape and with few students. The local fundraising in the original competition set a precedent for the State Legislature to ignore later requests for money. As a result, the campus was small, the students came mainly from Boone County, and the place seemed more like a county school than a state university.[20]
As a legislator after the war, Rollins wrote, introduced, and helped pass several measures, which together financially stabilized the University of Missouri for the first time, and strengthened Columbia's hold on it:
- Appropriation of $10,000 for a new President's House, and $16,000 per year for general funding (1867).
- Establishment of Normal Department to train school teachers (1867).
- Establishment of Agricultural and Mechanical College. Concessions to get the bill passed required Boone County to contribute money for the new college, and located the new Missouri School of Mines in Rolla, not in Columbia (1870).
- Investment of $122,000 from state sales of "seminary lands" for higher education, as authorized by the Federal Government (1870). This money was augmented with a similar act in 1883.
- Issue of $166,000 in bonds to build the new School of Mines at Rolla (called Missouri University of Science and Technology as of 2008), liquidate University debt, complete the Science Building (called Switzler Hall as of 2008), and add to the university's permanent endowment (1872).
- Setting maximum university tuition at 10 dollars, making college easily affordable for most students (1872).[21][22]
Father of the University of Missouri
When Rollins returned to Columbia after the 1872 legislative session, students assembled and adopted resolutions thanking him for his work on the university's behalf. The faculty issued a similar statement. The board of curators passed resolutions on May 9, 1872, giving Rollins the honorary title of "Pater Universitatis Missouriensis" ("Father of the University of Missouri").[1][23]
University of Missouri Board of Curators President
Rollins was first named to the University of Missouri Board of Curators, the university's governing body, in 1847. He held the position until 1848, when the State Legislatureremoved the entire board. He again joined the board in 1869, and was elected its President that same year. He held the position until ill health forced his resignation in 1886.[24]
Friendship with George Caleb Bingham
Among his many acquaintances, Rollins had a lifelong friendship with artist and politician George Caleb Bingham. Bingham painted numerous portraits of Rollins family members, including several of Rollins himself. Rollins gave Bingham a boost early in his career by getting several people in Columbia to have him paint their portraits. He later helped Bingham get a commission to do portraits of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington for the Missouri State Capitol,[25] and he helped finance printings of Bingham's General Order No. 11. Late in Bingham's life, Rollins helped him get a position as the University of Missouri's first art professor.[26]
Rollins and Bingham named sons after each other.[27] Bingham frequently visited the Rollins home, sometimes staying for a month at a time. The two maintained a frequent correspondence for over forty-five years, until Bingham's death, in which they discussed a variety of personal, social, and political issues.
Death
In 1874, Rollins was injured in a train wreck while traveling to St. Louis. He was bedridden for several months, and although he recovered to live 14 more years, he never fully regained his strength. Rollins died on January 9, 1888, in Columbia, Missouri. He is buried there at Columbia Cemetery.
Notes
- ^ a b Stephens, page 250.
- ^ a b Mering, pages 225-226.
- ^ "James S. Rollins (1812-1888), Papers, 1546-1968 (C1026)" (PDF). The State Historical Society of Missouri. State Historical Society of Missouri. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 1, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
- ^ Smith, pages 4-6.
- ^ Smith, page 6.
- ^ Mering, pages 217-219.
- ^ Smith, page 25.
- ^ Stephens, pages 12-14.
- ^ Stephens, pages 15-17.
- ^ Smith, pages 19-21.
- ^ Smith, page 36.
- ^ Mering, pages 222-223.
- ^ Vorenberg, pages 181-182.
- ^ Vorenberg, page 187.
- ^ Smith, pages 196-221 provides text of Rollins' speech.
- ^ Vorenberg, page 207.
- ^ SWITZLER, WILLIAM F. "The Centralia Massacre: A complete account". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- ^ Mering, pages 223-224.
- ^ Smith, page 243.
- ^ Stephens, page 18.
- ^ Viles, pages 122-125.
- ^ Smith, pages 42-47.
- ^ Smith, pages 47-49 provides the text of the resolutions.
- ^ Stephens, pages 58, 72, 249-250, 305.
- ^ Christ-Janer, pages 33-34. These paintings were destroyed when the capitol burned in 1911.
- ^ Nagel, page 141.
- ^ Nagel, page 67.
References
- Christ-Janer, Albert, George Caleb Bingham of Missouri, The Story of an Artist (1940). Dodd Mead and Company.
- Mering, John V., "The Political Transition of James S. Rollins," in Missouri Historical Review Vol. LIII, No. 3 (April, 1959), pages 217–226.
- Nagel, Paul C., George Caleb Bingham, Missouri's Famed Painter and Forgotten Politician (2005). University of Missouri Press.
- Smith, William Benjamin, James Sidney Rollins Memoir (1891). De Vinne Press.
- Stephens, Frank F., A History of the University of Missouri (1962). University of Missouri Press.
- Viles, Jonas, The University of Missouri, A Centennial History (1939). University of Missouri Press.
- Vorenberg, Michael, Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment (2001). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-54384-3.
Further reading
- Rollins, Curtis B., comp., "Letters of George Caleb Bingham to James S. Rollins," in Missouri Historical Review Vols. XXXII, Nos. 1-4 and XXXIII, Nos. 1-4 (eight part series, October 1937-July 1939).
- Wood, James M., James Sidney Rollins of Missouri; A Political Biography (1951). Thesis (Ph.D.), Stanford University.
- Smith, William Benjamin (1891). James Sidney Rollins. De Vinne Press. Retrieved November 22, 2008.[permanent dead link]
External links
- United States Congress. "James S. Rollins (id: R000412)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2009-04-28
- James S. Rollins (1812-1888), Papers Archived April 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine at The State Historical Society of Missouri. Archived February 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Online index includes biographical sketch and discussion of his correspondence.
- James S. Rollins and George Caleb Bingham: A Mizzou Friendship