Robert M. Stewart (D)

Overview

At a Glance

• Defended slavery and opposed abolition
• Vetoed a bill that would have forced free black Americans to either leave Missouri or be sold into slavery
• Secured state financial back and federal land grant for Hannibal-St. Joseph Railroad
• Sent troops to quell violence along the Kansas border

Personal History

Robert Marcellus Stewart was born in Truxton, New York, where he attended local schools and began teaching at the age of seventeen. He studied law and was admitted to the New York Bar in 1836. The following year, he relocated to Louisville, Kentucky, where he practiced law and contributed to a newspaper. In 1839, Stewart moved to western Missouri, establishing a law office in Bloomington, which is now known as DeKalb. He later shifted his legal practice to St. Joseph, Missouri and became actively engaged in Democratic politics.

After the Mexican-American War began, Stewart organized a company for the Oregon Battalion and was elected captain. He accompanied the unit as far as Fort Kearny, but poor health required him to return to St. Joseph. In 1848, he accepted an appointment as the register of the land office in Savannah, Missouri, but soon resigned to personally fund a preliminary survey for a railroad connecting Hannibal and St. Joseph. Stewart believed this railroad would eventually be integrated into the Pacific Railway system, transforming St. Joseph into a key railroad hub.

In 1863, Gov. Hamilton R. Gamble commissioned Stewart to organize a brigade of Union soldiers. However, later that year, General Henry Halleck relieved him of command due to his ongoing issues with chronic drunkenness.

Despite his struggles with alcoholism, Stewart earned a reputation as a talented and diligent public official, though his drinking sometimes impaired his judgment and resulted in public embarrassment. Ultimately, his chronic alcoholism took a toll on his health, leading to his death in St. Joseph, where he was buried in Mt. Mora Cemetery.

Political History

In 1845, Stewart was elected as a delegate to the Missouri Constitutional Convention and subsequently won a seat in the state senate, serving for a decade. As chairman of the Committee on Internal Improvements, he championed railroad legislation and advocated for state funding of public improvement projects. After securing state financial support for the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, he traveled to Washington, D.C., to obtain a federal land grant, and he became the railroad company's first president, overseeing the initial phases of construction.

In 1857, after the Missouri General Assembly appointed Gov. Trusten W. Polk to the U.S. Senate, the Democrats nominated Stewart to run against Whig James S. Rollins in a special gubernatorial election, which Stewart narrowly won, being sworn in on October 22.

After stepping down as governor, Stewart was elected as a delegate to the 1860 state convention tasked with determining Missouri's position in the Union. During the convention, he firmly identified himself as an unconditional Unionist, demonstrating his commitment to preserving the Union despite the escalating tensions and divisions of the time.

Historical Significance

During his tenure as governor, he emphasized state improvements, but the intensifying national crisis threatening the Union occupied much of his focus. While he defended slavery and criticized abolitionism, he notably vetoed a bill that would have mandated the expulsion or enslavement of free people of color in the state.

Gov. Stewart adopted a more moderate stance on the Union compared to many of his Democratic peers. In 1858, when violence broke out along the Kansas border, he acted by deploying state troops to help restore order. In his final message to the General Assembly, Stewart emphasized Missouri's commitment to remaining in the Union, stating that it would uphold its allegiance as long as it was worthwhile, and he insisted that the state would not be intimidated by past unfriendly Northern legislation nor coerced into secession by the extreme South’s restrictive measures.

Despite being pro-slavery, Stewart diverged from earlier pro-slavery governors by striving to adopt a more neutral position akin to that of Governors Price and King. When it came time to take a stand during the 1860 convention and the outbreak of the Civil War, he ultimately chose to align himself with the Union, reaffirming his commitment to preserving it despite his previous inclinations.