James Stephen Green

James Stephen Green (February 28, 1817 – January 19, 1870) was a Democratic United States Representative and Senator from Missouri. Born near Rectortown in Fauquier County, Virginia, he attended the common schools of his native state before moving south and west as a young man. He first relocated to Alabama and then, around 1838, settled in Missouri, which would become the principal arena of his legal and political career. His family would later be notable on both the political and military stages; his brother, Martin E. Green, became a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War.

After arriving in Missouri, Green pursued legal studies and read law in the customary manner of the period. He was admitted to the bar in 1840 and commenced the practice of law in Monticello, Missouri. He later moved his practice a short distance to Canton, Missouri, where he established himself as a prominent attorney and local figure. His growing reputation in the legal profession and in Democratic Party circles led to his involvement in state politics during a formative period for Missouri.

Green’s early political prominence was marked by his service as a delegate to the Missouri state constitutional convention in 1845. In that role, he participated in shaping the state’s fundamental law at a time when Missouri was grappling with questions of governance, expansion, and its place within the Union. His work at the convention helped solidify his standing within the Democratic Party and prepared the way for his election to national office.

As a member of the Democratic Party representing Missouri, James Stephen Green contributed to the legislative process during three terms in office. He was elected as a Democrat to the Thirtieth and Thirty-first Congresses, serving in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1847, to March 3, 1851. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, encompassing the aftermath of the Mexican–American War and the intensifying national debate over slavery and territorial expansion. Green participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Missouri constituents in these contentious years. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1850, choosing instead to pursue other avenues of public service.

Following his initial congressional service, Green entered the diplomatic corps. He was appointed Chargé d’Affaires to New Granada (present-day Colombia and surrounding areas) and served in that capacity from 1853 to 1854, representing U.S. interests in a strategically important region for hemispheric trade and transit. In June 1854 he was appointed Minister Resident to New Granada, but he did not present his credentials and therefore did not formally assume that post. Returning to elective politics, he was elected to the Thirty-fifth Congress; however, he did not take his seat in the House of Representatives, having instead been chosen by the Missouri legislature to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate for the term commencing March 4, 1855.

Green served in the United States Senate from January 12, 1857, to March 3, 1861. During his tenure, he held a significant leadership role as chairman of the Committee on Territories in both the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses. In that capacity, he was centrally involved in legislative deliberations over the organization and governance of western territories at a time when the question of whether new states would enter the Union as free or slave states was at the heart of national politics. His senatorial service coincided with the deepening sectional crisis that ultimately led to the Civil War, and he was a prominent Democratic voice in the debates that preceded the conflict.

After leaving the Senate at the close of his term in 1861, Green returned to Missouri. Although the existing record does not detail extensive later public office, he remained a figure of note in the state, associated with the Democratic Party and with the prewar generation of Missouri leaders. His family ties to the Confederacy through his brother Martin E. Green underscored the divided loyalties within Missouri during the Civil War era, though James S. Green himself is principally remembered for his legislative and diplomatic service rather than for a direct military role.

James Stephen Green died in St. Louis, Missouri, on January 19, 1870. He was interred in Forest Grove Cemetery in Canton, Missouri, returning in death to the community where he had long resided and practiced law. His legacy in the state is reflected in the naming of the community of Greensburg, Missouri, in his honor, commemorating his contributions as a lawyer, legislator, diplomat, and United States senator from Missouri.