Sterling Price (D)

Overview

At a Glance

• Approved charter to create Washington University in St. Louis (1853)
• Promoted public-private financing of railroads
• Vetoed pork-barrel legislation
• Tried to maintain middle ground on slavery, promoting peaceful resolution versus abolition
• Supported Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

Personal History

Born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Sterling Price was the son of a tobacco planter who ensured his five children enjoyed a comfortable home and a quality education. In 1830, the Price family relocated to Missouri, joining the increasing wave of Virginia planters in search of new land opportunities.

Price initially ventured into storekeeping and the tobacco commission business, using his profits to invest in land surrounding his father’s extensive holdings near Keytesville, Missouri. A handsome and charismatic young man, he became well integrated into local society and politics. Within just two years of his arrival, Price was elected colonel of the Chariton County Militia Regiment. In May 1833, he married Martha Head, and the couple went on to have seven children, five of whom survived into adulthood.

When the United States declared war on Mexico on May 13, 1846, Senator Thomas Hart Benton commissioned Price as a colonel of volunteers to raise and lead a regiment of Missourians in Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny’s Army of the West. Despite suffering from a severe illness, Price successfully marched his regiment to Santa Fe by September 1846, where he took command of the American Army of Occupation. In January 1847, he quelled a rebellion against American forces, resulting in his promotion to brigadier general; however, many viewed the promotion as more politically motivated than based on merit. Seeking to further validate his leadership, Price defied War Department orders and engaged a Mexican army unit at Santa Cruz de Rosales, killing more than 200 soldiers, despite a peace treaty already being signed. This controversial action garnered him significant public admiration.

After his gubernatorial term, Price returned to his tobacco business and focused on a project aimed at demonstrating that local railroad lines could be constructed using local funds. As president of the Chariton and Randolph Railroad Company, Price leveraged his personal resources and connections to secure private capital for the project. However, this commitment led him to neglect his own financial affairs, and the economic depression following the panic of 1857 nearly bankrupted him.

Friends helped Price secure an appointment as state bank commissioner, a role that alleviated his financial struggles and allowed him to reengage in state affairs. In January 1861, as Southern states began to secede from the Union, Gov. Claiborne Fox Jackson convened a state convention to determine Missouri’s stance. Voters overwhelmingly chose Unionists for the convention, while conditional Unionists like Price sought compromise to avert war, viewing secession as a last resort. Price was easily elected president of the convention held in St. Louis, where resolutions were adopted that called for unity, peace, and compromise between the North and South, as well as constitutional amendments to safeguard the rights of minority states.

In 1867, Price and his family settled in a house purchased by friends with donations from thousands of Missourians, a token of their devotion to their former leader. He opened a commission business with his sons in St. Louis, but his health steadily declined. Price died on September 29, 1867, and was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, with the largest funeral procession St. Louis had seen at the time. In 1911, his admirers petitioned the state legislature for $5,000, part of the governor's salary that Price never collected. That sum, along with private donations, was spent in erecting a monument to the general's memory in his hometown of Keytesville.

Political History

In the early stages of his political career, Price formed alliances with the influential Boonslick Democrats, a coalition of affluent Southern planters and merchants from Boone, Howard, and Chariton counties, who were key players in Missouri politics during the 1830s and 1840s. His diplomatic skills, charisma, and commanding presence helped him become a successful politician, leading to his election to the General Assembly in 1838. By 1840, he had ascended to the role of Speaker of the House and, in 1844, won a seat in Congress.

After a riot in St. Louis, instigated by local politician Frank Blair, Capt. Nathaniel Lyon, and the Union Home Guards, which resulted in the deaths of at least twenty-eight unarmed civilians, Price offered his services to Gov. Jackson. Although secessionists in the state government were wary of Price’s moderate views, they acknowledged his significant prestige and popularity. Consequently, Gov. Jackson appointed him as major general in command of the State Guard. Price promptly met with federal commander Maj. Gen. William S. Harney to negotiate a truce between Unionist and state forces; however, Blair intervened and had Harney replaced with the radical pro-Unionist Capt. Lyon. State and federal officers reconvened in St. Louis on June 11, 1861, but the meeting ended abruptly when Lyon declared war on the state of Missouri.

During the Civil War, Price garnered admiration, and discussions in Richmond even suggested that he could become the next president or lead a military junta to succeed Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States. Additionally, there were rumors regarding Price’s potential interests in a proposed “Northwestern Confederacy,” which aimed to establish independence from both the Confederate and federal governments.

On September 19, 1864, Price launched an assault into Missouri that ultimately led to federal troops surrounding his forces in Westport by October 23, resulting in the largest battle of the trans-Mississippi war with 45,000 men involved. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Price managed to preserve the majority of his army and supply train, retreating to Arkansas afterward. The 1864 raid did not succeed in reinstating a Confederate state government in Missouri. A treaty that ended hostilities in the Trans-Mississippi Department was signed in Shreveport, Louisiana on May 26, 1865, and by early June, Price and other Missouri Confederates chose to flee to Mexico rather than face surrender.

Price played a prominent role in creating the largest Confederate colony in Mexico, which ultimately became vulnerable to rebels and outlaws and lacked sustainability. After experiencing significant declines in both health and fortune, Price returned to Missouri in January 1867. In a notable gesture of reconciliation, his former adversary Frank Blair extended a presidential pardon to him, to which Price responded, "I have no pardon to ask."

Historical Significance

Elected governor of Missouri in 1852, Price identified as a Douglas Democrat and championed nationalist policies, advocating for a transcontinental railroad along a central route to foster national unity. He believed that popular sovereignty represented the sole constitutional approach to addressing the contentious issue of slavery in the territories.

As governor, Price advocated for a conservative approach to funding major railroad projects, insisting on equal financial contributions from both the state and private sectors. He viewed extensive public funding for local rail lines as a risky overextension of state credit and saw his role as a vigilant overseer of the legislature. This steadfast commitment to fiscal responsibility led him to consistently veto pork-barrel legislation, earning him the respect of Missouri voters, though it simultaneously strained his relationship with the state's political elite.

Gov. Price endorsed the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act in hopes of achieving a peaceful resolution regarding slavery in the territories. While he refrained from actively assisting Missourians migrating into Kansas, he also chose not to intervene in the violence that erupted along the border. Although he sympathized with the pro-slavery leadership and supporters from the Boonslick Democrats, he viewed their aggressive tactics as a potential threat to national unity. Conversely, he considered the abolitionists' objectives as aimed at undermining the Constitution and threatening the stability of American governance and institutions.

Governor Price is primarily recognized for his military career. Despite his pro-slavery stance, he maintained the precedent set by former Gov. Austin King of remaining neutral, advocating for a peaceful resolution to the slavery question. Additionally, while supporting railroad expansion like his predecessor, Price adopted a more conservative approach to utilizing public funds for such projects, reflecting his cautious governance style amidst a turbulent political climate.