James S. Rollins

Who was James S. Rollins?

James Sidney Rollins 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."

As a border state Congressman, Rollins played a role in Congress's passage of the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery. He changed his vote to support the amendment, and spoke in favor of it. Rollins was a Whig for the first 20 years of his political career. When that party broke up, he began a political transition, changing parties several times before becoming a Republican late in his life. Rollins' lifelong support of business development was compatible with Republican policies, but his situation as a major slaveowner prevented him from joining the Republican Party until well after the Civil War.