Salmon P. Chase
Encyclopedia
Salmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator
from Ohio
and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary
under President
Abraham Lincoln
; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Chase was one of the most prominent members of the new Republican Party
before becoming Chief Justice. Chase articulated the "Slave Power conspiracy" thesis well before Lincoln. He coined the slogan of the Free Soil Party
, "Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men." He devoted his energies to the destruction of what he considered the Slave Power
the conspiracy of Southern slave owners to seize control of the federal government
and block the progress of liberty.
to Ithamar Chase and his wife Janet Ralston. His father died when the boy was nine years old. Janet Chase was left a widow with "a small amount of property and ten surviving children". Salmon was raised by his uncle, Philander Chase
, an Episcopal bishop
.
He studied in the common schools of Windsor, Vermont
and Worthington, Ohio
, and at Cincinnati College before entering the junior class at Dartmouth College
. He was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi
Fraternity and Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated from Dartmouth in 1826. While at Dartmouth, he taught at the Royalton Academy in Royalton, Vermont
.
Chase moved to the District of Columbia, where he studied law under U.S. Attorney General
William Wirt
and continued to teach. He was admitted to the bar
in 1829.
, where he quickly gained a position of prominence at the bar. He published an annotated edition of the laws of Ohio which was long considered a standard. The death of his first wife in 1835 triggered Chase's spiritual reawakening and devotion to causes more aligned with his faith, including abolition
.
He worked initially with the American Sunday School Union
and began defending fugitive slaves. At a time when public opinion in Cincinnati was dominated by Southern
business connections, Chase, influenced by local events, including the attack on the press of James G. Birney
during the Cincinnati Riots of 1836
, associated himself with the anti-slavery movement. Chase was also a member of the literary Semi-Colon Club
; its members included Harriet Beecher Stowe
and Calvin Stowe
. Chase became the leader of the political reformers, as opposed to the Garrisonian
abolitionist
movement.
For his defense of escaped slaves seized in Ohio under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, Chase was dubbed the Attorney General for Fugitive Slaves. His argument in the case of Jones v. Van Zandt on the constitutionality of fugitive slave laws before the U.S. Supreme Court
attracted particular attention. In this and similar cases, the court ruled against him, and John Van Zandt
's conviction was upheld. Chase contended that slavery was local, not national, and that it could exist only by virtue of positive state law. He argued that the federal government
was not empowered by the Constitution
to create slavery anywhere and that when a slave leaves the jurisdiction of a state where slavery is legal, he ceases to be a slave; he continues to be a man and leaves behind the law that made him a slave.
Elected as a Whig
to the Cincinnati City Council in 1840, Chase left that party the next year. For seven years he was the leader of the Liberty Party
in Ohio. He helped balance its idealism with his pragmatic approach and political thought. He was skillful in drafting platforms and addresses, and he prepared the national Liberty platform of 1843 and the Liberty address of 1845. Building the Liberty Party was slow going. By 1848 Chase was leader in the effort to combine the Liberty Party with the Barnburners
or Van Buren Democrats of New York
to form the Free Soil Party
.
Chase drafted the Free-Soil platform, and it was chiefly through his influence that Van Buren
was their nominee for President in 1848. In 1849, Chase was elected to the U.S Senate from Ohio on the Free Soil ticket. Chase's goal, however, was not to establish a permanent new party organization, but to bring pressure to bear upon Northern Democrats to force them to oppose the extension of slavery.
During his service in the Senate (1849–1855), Chase was an anti-slavery champion. He spoke ably against the Compromise of 1850
and the Kansas-Nebraska Act
of 1854. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska legislation, and the subsequent violence in Kansas
, convinced Chase of the futility of trying to influence the Democrats.
He was a leader in the movement to form a new party opposing the extension of slavery. He tried to unite the liberal Democrats with the dwindling Whig Party, which led to establishment of the Republican Party
. "The Appeal of the Independent Democrats in Congress to the People of the United States", written by Chase and Giddings, and published in the New York Times on January 24, 1854, may be regarded as the earliest draft of the Republican party creed.
In 1855 he was elected governor of Ohio. Chase was the first Republican governor of Ohio, serving from 1856 to 1860, where he supported women's rights, public education, and prison reform.
Chase sought the Republican nomination for president in 1860. With the exception of William H. Seward
, Chase was the most prominent Republican in the country and had done more against slavery than any other Republican. But he opposed a "protective tariff
", favored by most other Republicans, and his record of collaboration with Democrats annoyed many Republicans who were former Whigs.
At the 1860 Republican National Convention
, he got 49 votes on the first ballot, but he had little support outside Ohio. Abraham Lincoln
won the nomination, and Chase supported him.
Chase was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 1860. However, three days after taking his seat, he resigned to become Secretary of the Treasury
under Lincoln. He was a member of the Peace Convention
of 1861 held in Washington, D.C.
, in an effort to prevent the impending war.
. In that period of crisis, there were two great changes in American financial policy, the establishment of a national banking system and the issue of paper currency
. The former was Chase's own particular measure. He suggested the idea, worked out the important principles and many of the details, and induced the Congress
to approve them. It not only secured an immediate market for government bonds, but also provided a permanent uniform, stable national currency. Chase ensured that the Union could sell debt to pay for the war effort. He worked with Jay Cooke & Company
to successfully manage the sale of $500 million in government war bonds (known as 5/20s) in 1862.
The first U.S. federal currency, the greenback demand note
, was printed in 1861-1862, during Chase's tenure as Secretary of the Treasury. These greenbacks formed the basis for today's paper currency. It was Chase's responsibility to design the notes. In an effort to further his political career, his face appeared on a variety of U.S. paper currency, starting with the $1 bill so that the people would recognize him.
Perhaps Chase's chief defect was an insatiable desire for high office. Throughout his term as Treasury Secretary, Chase exploited his position to build up political support for another run at the Presidency in 1864.
He also tried to pressure Lincoln by repeatedly threatening resignation, which he knew would cause Lincoln difficulties with the Radical Republicans.
To honor Chase for introducing the modern system of banknote
s, he was depicted on the $10,000 bill
printed from 1928 to 1946. Chase was instrumental in placing the phrase "In God We Trust
" on United States coins.http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx
In June 1864, Lincoln surprised Chase by accepting his fourth offer of resignation; Lincoln had secured renomination and the Federal Treasury was in solid shape, so Lincoln no longer needed Chase.
But to placate the Radical wing of the party, Lincoln mentioned Chase as a potential Supreme Court nominee. When Chief Justice
Roger B. Taney
died in October, Lincoln named Chase to replace him. Lincoln issued on the nomination on December 6, 1864. Chase was confirmed by the Senate that very day, and immediately received his commission, holding the office from 1864 until his own death in 1873. Chase was a complete change from the pro-slavery Taney; one of Chase's first acts as Chief Justice was to admit John Rock
as the first African-American attorney to argue cases before the Supreme Court.
In his capacity as Chief Justice, Chase presided at the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson
in 1868. Among his most important decisions while on the court were:
Toward the end of his life he gradually drifted back toward his old Democratic allegiance, and made an unsuccessful effort to secure the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1868. He "was passed over because of his stance in favor of voting rights for black men." He helped to found the Liberal Republican Party
in 1872, unsuccessfully seeking its presidential nomination. Chase was also a Freemason, active in the lodges of Midwestern society. He collaborated with John Purdue
, the founder of Lafayette Bank and Purdue University
. Eventually, JP Morgan Chase & Co. would purchase Purdue National Corporation of Lafayette, Indiana in 1984.
As early as 1868 Chase concluded that:
Chase died in New York City
in 1873. His remains were interred first in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
, and later re-interred in Spring Grove Cemetery
, Cincinnati, Ohio
. Chase had been an active member of St. Paul Episcopal Cathedral, Cincinnati
.
The Chase National Bank, a predecessor of Chase Manhattan Bank
which is now JPMorgan Chase, was named in his honor, though he had no financial affiliation with it.
Chase Hall, the main barracks and dormitory at the United States Coast Guard Academy
, is named for Chase in honor of his service as Secretary of the Treasury, and the United States Coast Guard Cutter Chase (WHEC 718)
is named for him.
Chase's portrait is on the $10,000 bill, but it is out of circulation.
Chase County, Kansas
is named in his honor. As is Chaseville, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina (which only lasted from 1868–1871), New York, Ohio, and Tennessee.
Chase Hall at Harvard Business School is also named in his honor.
Also, the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court Chase Rodgers is genealogically connected to Salmon P. Chase.
The Salmon P. Chase College of Law
at Northern Kentucky University is named in his honor.
Salmon Chase is one of the major figures in the extensively researched historical novel "Lincoln" by Gore Vidal
.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
under President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Chase was one of the most prominent members of the new Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
before becoming Chief Justice. Chase articulated the "Slave Power conspiracy" thesis well before Lincoln. He coined the slogan of the Free Soil Party
Free Soil Party
The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. It was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State. The party leadership...
, "Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men." He devoted his energies to the destruction of what he considered the Slave Power
Slave power
The Slave Power was a term used in the Northern United States to characterize the political power of the slaveholding class of the South....
the conspiracy of Southern slave owners to seize control of the federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
and block the progress of liberty.
Early life and education
Chase was born in Cornish, New HampshireCornish, New Hampshire
Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,640 at the 2010 census. Cornish has three covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair.-History:...
to Ithamar Chase and his wife Janet Ralston. His father died when the boy was nine years old. Janet Chase was left a widow with "a small amount of property and ten surviving children". Salmon was raised by his uncle, Philander Chase
Philander Chase
Philander Chase was an Episcopal Church bishop, educator, and pioneer of the United States western frontier in Ohio and Illinois.-Life:...
, an Episcopal bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
.
He studied in the common schools of Windsor, Vermont
Windsor, Vermont
Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,756 at the 2000 census.-History:One of the New Hampshire grants, Windsor was chartered as a town on July 6, 1761 by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. It was first settled in August 1764 by Captain Steele Smith and...
and Worthington, Ohio
Worthington, Ohio
-Dissolution of the Company:By August 11, 1804 the plat maps were completed, payments or notes promising payments collected and deeds prepared for all sixteen thousand acres of the Scioto Company's purchase...
, and at Cincinnati College before entering the junior class at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
. He was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi
Alpha Delta Phi
Alpha Delta Phi is a Greek-letter social college fraternity and the fourth-oldest continuous Greek-letter fraternity in the United States and Canada. Alpha Delta Phi was founded on October 29, 1832 by Samuel Eells at Hamilton College and includes former U.S. Presidents, Chief Justices of the U.S....
Fraternity and Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated from Dartmouth in 1826. While at Dartmouth, he taught at the Royalton Academy in Royalton, Vermont
Royalton, Vermont
Royalton is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,603 at the 2000 census. It includes the villages of Royalton, South Royalton, and North Royalton...
.
Chase moved to the District of Columbia, where he studied law under U.S. Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
William Wirt
William Wirt (Attorney General)
William Wirt was an American author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence.-History:...
and continued to teach. He was admitted to the bar
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
in 1829.
Entrance into politics
In 1830, Chase moved to Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, where he quickly gained a position of prominence at the bar. He published an annotated edition of the laws of Ohio which was long considered a standard. The death of his first wife in 1835 triggered Chase's spiritual reawakening and devotion to causes more aligned with his faith, including abolition
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
.
He worked initially with the American Sunday School Union
American Missionary Fellowship
American Missionary Fellowship , now known as InFaith, had its roots in the First Day Society . AMF officially formed in 1817 as the “Sunday and Adult School Union.” In 1824, the organization changed its name to “American Sunday School Union”...
and began defending fugitive slaves. At a time when public opinion in Cincinnati was dominated by Southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
business connections, Chase, influenced by local events, including the attack on the press of James G. Birney
James G. Birney
James Gillespie Birney was an abolitionist, politician and jurist born in Danville, Kentucky. From 1816 to 1818, he served in the Kentucky House of Representatives...
during the Cincinnati Riots of 1836
Cincinnati Riots of 1836
The Cincinnati Riots of 1836 were caused by racial tensions at a time when African Americans, some of whom had escaped from slavery in the southern states of the USA, were competing with whites for jobs....
, associated himself with the anti-slavery movement. Chase was also a member of the literary Semi-Colon Club
Semi-Colon Club
The Semi-Colon Club was an informal organization of talented writers in Cincinnati, Ohio during the mid-19th century. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a member of the club while living in the city from 1832 until 1850...
; its members included Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
and Calvin Stowe
Calvin Ellis Stowe
thumb|Calvin Ellis Stowe, circa 1850Calvin Ellis Stowe was an American Biblical scholar who helped spread public education in the United States, and the husband and literary agent of Harriet Beecher Stowe.-Life and career:...
. Chase became the leader of the political reformers, as opposed to the Garrisonian
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
movement.
For his defense of escaped slaves seized in Ohio under the Fugitive Slave Law of 1793, Chase was dubbed the Attorney General for Fugitive Slaves. His argument in the case of Jones v. Van Zandt on the constitutionality of fugitive slave laws before the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
attracted particular attention. In this and similar cases, the court ruled against him, and John Van Zandt
John Van Zandt
John Van Zandt was an abolitionist who aided the Underground Railroad resistance movement in Ohio after having been a slaveholder in Kentucky. Sued for monetary damages by a slaveholder whose escaped slaves he aided, he was a party to Jones v. Van Zandt , a case by which abolitionists intended to...
's conviction was upheld. Chase contended that slavery was local, not national, and that it could exist only by virtue of positive state law. He argued that the federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
was not empowered by the Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
to create slavery anywhere and that when a slave leaves the jurisdiction of a state where slavery is legal, he ceases to be a slave; he continues to be a man and leaves behind the law that made him a slave.
Elected as a Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
to the Cincinnati City Council in 1840, Chase left that party the next year. For seven years he was the leader of the Liberty Party
Liberty Party (1840s)
The Liberty Party was a minor political party in the United States in the 1840s . The party was an early advocate of the abolitionist cause...
in Ohio. He helped balance its idealism with his pragmatic approach and political thought. He was skillful in drafting platforms and addresses, and he prepared the national Liberty platform of 1843 and the Liberty address of 1845. Building the Liberty Party was slow going. By 1848 Chase was leader in the effort to combine the Liberty Party with the Barnburners
Barnburners and Hunkers
The Barnburners were the more radical faction of the New York state Democratic Party in the mid 19th century. The term barnburner was derived from the idea of someone who would burn down his own barn to get rid of a rat infestation, in this case those who would destroy all banks and corporations,...
or Van Buren Democrats of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to form the Free Soil Party
Free Soil Party
The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States active in the 1848 and 1852 presidential elections, and in some state elections. It was a third party and a single-issue party that largely appealed to and drew its greatest strength from New York State. The party leadership...
.
The Free Soil movement
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
was their nominee for President in 1848. In 1849, Chase was elected to the U.S Senate from Ohio on the Free Soil ticket. Chase's goal, however, was not to establish a permanent new party organization, but to bring pressure to bear upon Northern Democrats to force them to oppose the extension of slavery.
During his service in the Senate (1849–1855), Chase was an anti-slavery champion. He spoke ably against the Compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five bills, passed in September 1850, which defused a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War...
and the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty if they would allow slavery within...
of 1854. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska legislation, and the subsequent violence in Kansas
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
, convinced Chase of the futility of trying to influence the Democrats.
He was a leader in the movement to form a new party opposing the extension of slavery. He tried to unite the liberal Democrats with the dwindling Whig Party, which led to establishment of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. "The Appeal of the Independent Democrats in Congress to the People of the United States", written by Chase and Giddings, and published in the New York Times on January 24, 1854, may be regarded as the earliest draft of the Republican party creed.
In 1855 he was elected governor of Ohio. Chase was the first Republican governor of Ohio, serving from 1856 to 1860, where he supported women's rights, public education, and prison reform.
Chase sought the Republican nomination for president in 1860. With the exception of William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
, Chase was the most prominent Republican in the country and had done more against slavery than any other Republican. But he opposed a "protective tariff
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
", favored by most other Republicans, and his record of collaboration with Democrats annoyed many Republicans who were former Whigs.
At the 1860 Republican National Convention
1860 Republican National Convention
The 1860 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States, held in Chicago, Illinois at the Wigwam, nominated former U.S. Representative Abraham Lincoln of Illinois for President and U.S. Senator Hannibal Hamlin of Maine for Vice President...
, he got 49 votes on the first ballot, but he had little support outside Ohio. Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
won the nomination, and Chase supported him.
Chase was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 1860. However, three days after taking his seat, he resigned to become Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
under Lincoln. He was a member of the Peace Convention
Peace conference of 1861
The Peace Conference of 1861 was a meeting of more than 100 of the leading politicians of the antebellum United States held in Washington, D.C., in February 1861 that was meant to prevent what ultimately became the Civil War. The success of President Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party in the...
of 1861 held in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, in an effort to prevent the impending war.
Secretary of the Treasury
Chase served as Secretary of the Treasury in President Lincoln's cabinet from 1861 to 1864, during the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. In that period of crisis, there were two great changes in American financial policy, the establishment of a national banking system and the issue of paper currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
. The former was Chase's own particular measure. He suggested the idea, worked out the important principles and many of the details, and induced the Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to approve them. It not only secured an immediate market for government bonds, but also provided a permanent uniform, stable national currency. Chase ensured that the Union could sell debt to pay for the war effort. He worked with Jay Cooke & Company
Jay Cooke & Company
Jay Cooke & Company was a U.S. bank from 1861 to 1873. It was the first brokerage house to use telegraph messages to confirm with clients the purchase and sale of securities. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it had branches in New York City and Washington, DC...
to successfully manage the sale of $500 million in government war bonds (known as 5/20s) in 1862.
Demand Note
A Demand Note is a type of United States paper money that was issued between August 1861 and April 1862 during the American Civil War in denominations of 5, 10, and 20 US$...
, was printed in 1861-1862, during Chase's tenure as Secretary of the Treasury. These greenbacks formed the basis for today's paper currency. It was Chase's responsibility to design the notes. In an effort to further his political career, his face appeared on a variety of U.S. paper currency, starting with the $1 bill so that the people would recognize him.
Perhaps Chase's chief defect was an insatiable desire for high office. Throughout his term as Treasury Secretary, Chase exploited his position to build up political support for another run at the Presidency in 1864.
He also tried to pressure Lincoln by repeatedly threatening resignation, which he knew would cause Lincoln difficulties with the Radical Republicans.
To honor Chase for introducing the modern system of banknote
Banknote
A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money...
s, he was depicted on the $10,000 bill
Large denominations of United States currency
The base currency of the United States is the U.S. dollar, and is printed on bills in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100.At one time, however, it also included five larger denominations. High-denomination currency was prevalent from the very beginning of U.S. Government issue...
printed from 1928 to 1946. Chase was instrumental in placing the phrase "In God We Trust
In God We Trust
"In God We Trust" was adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956. It is also the motto of the U.S. state of Florida. The Legality of this motto has been questioned because of the United States Constitution forbidding the government to make any law respecting the establishment of a...
" on United States coins.http://www.treasury.gov/about/education/Pages/in-god-we-trust.aspx
Chief Justice of the United States
But to placate the Radical wing of the party, Lincoln mentioned Chase as a potential Supreme Court nominee. When Chief Justice
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
Roger B. Taney
Roger B. Taney
Roger Brooke Taney was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. He was the first Roman Catholic to hold that office or sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. He was also the eleventh United States Attorney General. He is most...
died in October, Lincoln named Chase to replace him. Lincoln issued on the nomination on December 6, 1864. Chase was confirmed by the Senate that very day, and immediately received his commission, holding the office from 1864 until his own death in 1873. Chase was a complete change from the pro-slavery Taney; one of Chase's first acts as Chief Justice was to admit John Rock
John Rock (Abolitionist)
John Stewart Rock John Stewart Rock John Stewart Rock (October 13, 1825 – December 3, 1866; was an American teacher, doctor, dentist, lawyer and abolitionist who originated the notion of "black is beautiful." Rock was one of the first African American men to earn a medical degree. In...
as the first African-American attorney to argue cases before the Supreme Court.
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
in 1868. Among his most important decisions while on the court were:
- Texas v. WhiteTexas v. WhiteTexas v. White, was a significant case argued before the United States Supreme Court in 1869. The case involved a claim by the Reconstruction government of Texas that United States bonds owned by Texas since 1850 had been illegally sold by the Confederate state legislature during the American...
(74 U.S. 700), 1869, in which he asserted that the Constitution provided for a permanent union, composed of indestructible states, while allowing some possibility of divisibility "through revolution, or through consent of the States."; - Veazie Banks v. FennoVeazie Banks v. FennoVeazie Banks v. Fenno was a United States Supreme Court case.-Background:Congress passed an act on July 13, 1866, which imposed a 10 per cent tax on notes of private persons, state banks, and state banking associations....
(75 U.S 533), 1869, on banking legislation of the Civil War that imposed a tax of 10 percent on state banknotes; and - Hepburn v. GriswoldHepburn v. GriswoldHepburn v. Griswold, 75 U.S. 603 , was a Supreme Court of the United States case in which the Chief Justice, Salmon P. Chase, speaking for the Court, declared certain parts of the legal tender acts to be unconstitutional...
(75 U.S. 603), 1870, which declared certain parts of the legal tender acts to be unconstitutional. When the legal tender decision was reversed after the appointment of new Justices, in 1871 and 1872 (Legal Tender CasesLegal Tender CasesThe Legal Tender Cases were a series of United States Supreme Court cases in the latter part of the nineteenth century that affirmed the constitutionality of paper money. In the 1870 case of Hepburn v. Griswold, the Court had held that paper money violated the United States Constitution. The...
, 79 U.S. 457), Chase prepared a very able dissenting opinion.
Toward the end of his life he gradually drifted back toward his old Democratic allegiance, and made an unsuccessful effort to secure the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1868. He "was passed over because of his stance in favor of voting rights for black men." He helped to found the Liberal Republican Party
Liberal Republican Party (United States)
The Liberal Republican Party of the United States was a political party that was organized in Cincinnati in May 1872, to oppose the reelection of President Ulysses S. Grant and his Radical Republican supporters. The party's candidate in that year's presidential election was Horace Greeley, longtime...
in 1872, unsuccessfully seeking its presidential nomination. Chase was also a Freemason, active in the lodges of Midwestern society. He collaborated with John Purdue
John Purdue
John Purdue was a famous industrialist based in Lafayette, Indiana and the primary original benefactor of Purdue University.-Early life:...
, the founder of Lafayette Bank and Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
. Eventually, JP Morgan Chase & Co. would purchase Purdue National Corporation of Lafayette, Indiana in 1984.
As early as 1868 Chase concluded that:
- "Congress was right in not limiting, by its reconstruction acts, the right of suffrageSuffrageSuffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
to whites; but wrong in the exclusion from suffrage of certain classes of citizens and all unable to take its prescribed retrospective oath, and wrong also in the establishment of despotic military governments for the States and in authorizing military commissions for the trial of civilians in time of peace. There should have been as little military government as possible; no military commissions; no classes excluded from suffrage; and no oath except one of faithful obedience and support to the Constitution and laws, and of sincere attachment to the constitutional Government of the United States."
Death and legacy
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1873. His remains were interred first in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and later re-interred in Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit garden cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the second largest cemetery in the United States and is recognized as a U.S. National Historic Landmark....
, Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. Chase had been an active member of St. Paul Episcopal Cathedral, Cincinnati
St. Paul Episcopal Cathedral, Cincinnati
The St. Paul Episcopal Cathedral was located on the south east corner of Seventh and Plum Streets, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The church was across from the Saint Peter In Chains Cathedral and next to the Plum Street Temple. The original St. Paul's Episcopal Church was located at 111 East Fourth Street....
.
The Chase National Bank, a predecessor of Chase Manhattan Bank
Chase Manhattan Bank
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...
which is now JPMorgan Chase, was named in his honor, though he had no financial affiliation with it.
Chase Hall, the main barracks and dormitory at the United States Coast Guard Academy
United States Coast Guard Academy
Founded in 1876, the United States Coast Guard Academy is the military academy of the United States Coast Guard. Located in New London, Connecticut, it is the smallest of the five federal service academies...
, is named for Chase in honor of his service as Secretary of the Treasury, and the United States Coast Guard Cutter Chase (WHEC 718)
USCGC Chase (WHEC-718)
USCGC Chase was a Hamilton class High Endurance Cutter of the United States Coast Guard. She was laid down on October 26, 1966 at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, launched on May 20, 1967 and commissioned on March 11, 1968. Chase is the fourth of twelve Hamilton Class, cutters, and the third...
is named for him.
Chase's portrait is on the $10,000 bill, but it is out of circulation.
Chase County, Kansas
Chase County, Kansas
Chase County is a county located in Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 2,790. Its county seat and most populous city is Cottonwood Falls. Chase County is part of the Emporia Micropolitan Statistical Area.The county has been the subject...
is named in his honor. As is Chaseville, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina (which only lasted from 1868–1871), New York, Ohio, and Tennessee.
Chase Hall at Harvard Business School is also named in his honor.
Also, the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court Chase Rodgers is genealogically connected to Salmon P. Chase.
The Salmon P. Chase College of Law
Salmon P. Chase College of Law
Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University is a law school in Highland Heights, Kentucky that was founded in 1893 and accredited by the American Bar Association in 1959. The college of law provides both part-time and full-time programs of study that lead to a Juris Doctor degree...
at Northern Kentucky University is named in his honor.
See also
- Anti-Nebraska PartyAnti-Nebraska PartyThe Anti-Nebraska Party was an American political party formed in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. Its founders, including Salmon P. Chase, held deep moral opposition to slavery, and were thus appalled by legislation that could lead to more slave-holding states...
political party - Appeal of the Independent DemocratsAppeal of the Independent DemocratsThe Appeal of the Independent Democrats was a manifesto issued in January, 1854, in response to the introduction into the United States Senate of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. The Appeal was written by Senator Salmon P...
- Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United StatesDemographics of the Supreme Court of the United StatesThe demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States encompass the gender, ethnic, religious, geographic, and economic backgrounds of the 112 justices appointed to the Supreme Court. Certain of these characteristics have been raised as an issue since the Court was established in 1789. For its...
- Institutions named for Salmon Chase
- Chase Manhattan BankChase Manhattan BankJPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase, is a national bank that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of financial services firm JPMorgan Chase. The bank was known as Chase Manhattan Bank until it merged with J.P. Morgan & Co. in 2000...
- Salmon P. Chase College of LawNorthern Kentucky University|type = Public|president= Dr. James C. Votruba|city = Highland Heights|state = KY|country = U.S.|endowment = $68 million|students = 15,405|undergrad = 13,206|postgrad = 2,199|faculty = 1,159...
in Highland Heights, KentuckyHighland Heights, KentuckyHighland Heights is a city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 6,554 at the 2000 census.Highland Heights is home to Northern Kentucky University...
- Chase Manhattan Bank
- List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of United States Chief Justices by time in office
- List of U.S. Supreme Court Justices by time in office
- United States Supreme Court cases during the Chase Court
- Origins of the American Civil WarOrigins of the American Civil WarThe main explanation for the origins of the American Civil War is slavery, especially Southern anger at the attempts by Northern antislavery political forces to block the expansion of slavery into the western territories...
- Semi-Colon ClubSemi-Colon ClubThe Semi-Colon Club was an informal organization of talented writers in Cincinnati, Ohio during the mid-19th century. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a member of the club while living in the city from 1832 until 1850...
- Places named for Salmon Chase
- Chase County, KansasChase County, KansasChase County is a county located in Central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 2,790. Its county seat and most populous city is Cottonwood Falls. Chase County is part of the Emporia Micropolitan Statistical Area.The county has been the subject...
- Chase County, Kansas
Secondary sources
- Blue, Frederick J. Salmon P. Chase: A Life in Politics (1987)
- Flanders, Henry. The Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the United States Supreme Court. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1874 at Google Books.
- Friedman, Leon. "Salmon P. Chase" in The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions. Volume 2. (1997) pp 552–67.
- Foner, Eric. Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War (1970)
- Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham LincolnTeam of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham LincolnTeam of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln is a book by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin published in 2005. The book is a biographical portrait of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and some of the men who served with him in his Cabinet from 1861 to 1865...
(2005) on Lincoln's cabinet. - Hendrick, Burton J. Lincoln's War Cabinet (1946)
- Niven, John. Salmon P. Chase: A Biography (1995).
- Randall, James G. "Salmon Portland Chase," Dictionary of American BiographyDictionary of American BiographyThe Dictionary of American Biography was published in New York City by Charles Scribner's Sons under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. The first edition was published in 20 volumes from 1928 to 1936. These 20 volumes contained 15,000 biographies...
, B, 4: 27-34; Blue, Chase. - Richardson, Heather Cox. The Greatest Nation of the Earth: Republican Economic Policies during the Civil War (1997)
- J. W. Schuckers, The Life and Public Services of Salmon Portland Chase, (1874).
- William M. Evarts. Eulogy on Chief-Justice Chase (1874),
Salmon Chase is one of the major figures in the extensively researched historical novel "Lincoln" by Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
.
Primary sources
- Niven, John, et al. eds. ed. The Salmon P. Chase Papers Volume: 2, 1823–57 (1993) vol 1–5 have coverage to 1873
- Niven, John, et al. eds. ed. The Salmon P. Chase Papers Volume: 3, 1858–63 (1993)
- Donald, David ed. Inside Lincoln's Cabinet: The Civil War Diaries of Salmon P. Chase (1954)
External links
- The Life of Salmon P. Chase, Attorney General of Fugitive Slaves.
- The Salmon P. Chase papers, including correspondence and a myriad of biographical materials spanning the years 1820-1884, are available for research use at the Historical Society of PennsylvaniaHistorical Society of PennsylvaniaThe Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historical society founded in 1824 and based in Philadelphia. The Society's building, designed by Addison Hutton and listed on Philadelphia's Register of Historical Places, houses some 600,000 printed items and over 19 million manuscript and graphic items...
. - Salmon P. Chase at Tulane University Law SchoolTulane University Law SchoolTulane University Law School is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States....
. - Biography at "Mr. Lincoln's White House"
- Mr. Lincoln and Freedom: Salmon P. Chase
- Eulogy on Chief-Justice Chase, delivered by William M. EvartsWilliam M. EvartsWilliam Maxwell Evarts was an American lawyer and statesman who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York...
, 1874 - Bibliography, Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
- Biography, Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
- Location of Papers, Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals