Salmon P. Chase

Chase, Salmon Portland - 1808–73, American public official and jurist, 6th Chief Justice of the United States (1864–73), b. Cornish, N.H. Admitted to the bar in 1829, he defended runaway blacks so often that he became known as "attorney general for fugitive slaves." Chase became prominent in the Liberty party and later in the Free-Soil party and was elected by a coalition of Free-Soilers and antislavery Democrats to the U.S. Senate, where (1849–55) he eloquently opposed such proslavery measures as the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Chase was elected governor of Ohio in 1855 at the head of a Republican ticket that was dominated by Know-Nothings; by 1857, when he was reelected, he was a leading member of the new Republican party. He was a splendid figure of a man, a "sculptor's ideal of a President," and few Americans have ever gone after that high office with more determination—or less success. He sought the Republican nomination in 1860, but since he lacked the full support of even his own state's delegation and since many considered him an extreme abolitionist, his chance passed quickly.

Again elected to the Senate, Chase served only two days in Mar., 1861, before resigning to become Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury. In that difficult position he took part in framing for Congress the new fiscal legislation necessitated by the Civil War, collected new taxes, placed unprecedentedly large loans with reluctant investors, and directed vast expenditures. To assist in government financing and also to improve the status of the currency, he proposed the national bank system (established in Feb., 1863), which is generally considered his greatest achievement. Ambition and a high regard for his own worth made Chase a difficult man to work with; after refusing four previous attempts, Lincoln finally accepted Chase's resignation on June 29, 1864.

Chase failed in his effort to secure the presidential nomination, but he remained an important national figure, and on Dec. 6, 1864, after the death of Roger B. Taney, Lincoln appointed Chase Chief Justice of the United States. He took a moderate stand in most of the important Reconstruction cases. His dissenting opinion in the Slaughterhouse Cases subsequently became the accepted position of the courts as to the restrictive force of the Fourteenth Amendment. On the other hand, his decision (1870) in Hepburn v. Griswold (see Legal Tender cases) was soon reversed. For his fairness in presiding over the Senate in the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, he was furiously denounced by his old radical friends. Chase persisted in seeking the presidency, but neither the Democrats in 1868 nor the Liberal Republicans in 1872 were interested in him.

See biography by A. B. Hart (1899, repr. 1969); D. Donald, ed., Inside Lincoln's Cabinet: The Civil War Diaries of Salmon P. Chase (1954, repr. 1970); J. W. Schuckers, Life and Public Services of Salmon P. Chase (1874, repr. 1970).

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Salmon P. Chase

1.

Salmon P. Chase: A Life in Politics
by Frederick J. Blue. 428 pgs.

Book

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Title Page

Contents

Illustrations

Preface

1: Portrait of An Ambitious Young Man

2: Family, Friends, and Fugitives

3: Liberty Advocate

4: Free-Soil Politico

5: From Columbus to Washington

6: The Politics of Finance

7: The Blue, the Gray, and the Black

8: Chase and Lincoln

9: Chase, Johnson, and the Republicans

10: Chief Justice as Presidential Candidate

11: Chase in Decline

Notes

Bibliographical Essay

Index
2.

The Salmon P. Chase Papers, Vol. 2
by Salmon Chase. 498 pgs.

Book

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Salmon P. Chase is usually remembered for his service as Treasury secretary during the Civil War. Earlier, he had attracted national attention as an antislavery attorney and politician and was twice elected U.S. senator from Ohio and served two terms as governor. For the final volume of this series, John Niven has chosen 215 significant letters that shed light on the last phase of Chase's life, the eight and one half years that he presided over the United States Supreme Court as chief justice.
During this period, Chase and the Court grappled with an array of issues that redefined the rights of individuals and legal relationships among citizens, the federal government, and the states. Correspondence selected for this volume is particularly rich with insights into the inner workings of the Court and the judicial process. Other themes include Chase's quest for the Democratic nomination to the presidency in the elections of 1868 and 1872, his role as presiding officer during the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, and the scandalous breakup of the marriage of his socialite daughter, Kate Chase Sprague, and her millionaire husband, U.S. Senator William Sprague of Rhode Island. The volume closes with Chase's death on May 7, 1873, at the New York City residence of his youngest daughter, Janet ("Nettie") Chase Hoyt.
Representative correspondents in this volume include such national leaders as Stephen Field, Horace Greeley, Andrew Johnson, and Charles Sumner, as well as relatives and personal friends such as Jay Cooke. As in previous volumes, the editors have supplemented their meticulous transcriptions of the manuscripts with detailed notes, a chronology, an index, and a narrativeintroduction. The National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and Claremont Graduate University provide support for the edition.

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Title Page

Editorial Advisory Board

Contents

Acknowledgments

Chronology

Introduction by John Niven

Editorial Procedures

To Thomas Sparhawk

To Adeline M. Hitchcock and Lauretta Hitchcock

To Thomas Sparhawk

To Hamilton Smith

To Thomas Sparhawk

To Hamilton Smith

To Alexander Ralston Chase

To Hamilton Smith

From Abigail Chase Colby

From William Wirt

To Thomas Sparhawk

To Thomas Sparhawk

To Charles D. Cleveland

To Daniel Webster

To Hamilton Smith

To Hamilton Smith

To Samuel F. VInton

From John Mclean

To Charles D. Cleveland

To the Cincinnati Daily Gazette

From James G. Birney

To Charles D. Cleveland

To Charles D. Cleveland

To William Henry Harrison

To Charles D. Cleveland

From Flamen Ball

To Joshua R. Giddings

To James G. Birney

To Joshua R. Giddings

To Joshua R. Giddings

From Cassius M. Clay

To Gerrit Smith

To John Quincy Adams

To Lewis Tappan

To Lewis Tappan

From Henry B. Stanton

From William H. Seward

To Robert F. Paine

To Quintus F. Atkins

To Gerrit Smith

From William H. Seward

To Caleb Emerson

To Henry B. Stanton and Elizur Wright

To Charles D. Cleveland

To William H. Collins

To Joshua R. Giddings

From Joshua R. Giddings

To Gerrit Smith

To Joshua R. Giddings

To J. H. Rose Et Al.

To Joshua R. Giddings

From Edwin M. Stanton

From John Mclean

From Edwin M. Stanton

From William H. Seward

From Edwin M. Stanton

From Charles Sumner

From William H. Seward

To Charles Sumner

To John P. Hale

From Gamaliel Bailey

To Charles Sumner

From John Mclean

To Joshua R. Giddings

From Jacob Brinkerhoff

From Lewis Tappan

To John P. Hale

From Samuel J. Tilden

To Benjamin Franklin Butler

To James W. Taylor

To Martin Van Buren

From Joshua Leavitt

From Martin Van Buren

To John Van Buren

To Charles Sumner

To Thomas Bolton

From John C. Vaughan

To John C. Vaughan

To Stanley Matthews

To Edward S. Hamlin

To John F. Morse

To Stanley Matthews

To Stanley Matthews

From Albert G. Riddle

To Sarah Bella D. L. Chase

To Sarah Bella D. L. Chase

To Joshua R. Giddings

To Charles Sumner

To Jacob Brinkerhoff

To George Bradburn

To Sarah Bella D. L. Chase

To Benjamin Franklin Butler

To Charles R. Miller

To Sarah Bella D. L. Chase

To Charles Sumner

To Charles Sumner

To Joshua R. Giddings

From John A. Dix

To Charles Sumner

To Edward S. Hamlin

To Edward S. Hamlin

To Edward S. Hamlin

To Sarah Bella D. L. Chase

To Edward S. Hamlin

To Sarah Bella D. L. Chase

To Edward S. Hamlin

To Charles Sumner

To Sarah Bella D. L. Chase

To Edward S. Hamlin

To Charles Sumner

To Sarah Bella D. L. Chase

To Stanley Matthews

To Unknown

To Benjamin Tappan

From Frederick Douglass

To Sarah Bella D. L. Chase

To Sarah Bella D. L. Chase

To John Mclean

To Edward S. Hamlin

To Charles Sumner

To Joseph Mccormick

To Joshua R. Giddings

To Kate Chase

To John F. Morse

To Milton Sutliff

To Edward A. Stansbury

From Charles Sumner

To Charles Sumner

To Gerrit Smith

To Joshua R. Giddings

To Charles R. Miller

To Joshua R. Giddings

To Gerrit Smith

To Hamilton Smith

From John Brough

To Edward S. Hamlin

From Horace Greeley

Index
3.

The Salmon P. Chase Papers, Vol. 3
by Salmon Chase, Leigh Johnsen, James P. McClure, John Niven. 452 pgs.

Book

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Salmon P. Chase is usually remembered for his service as Treasury secretary during the Civil War. Earlier, he had attracted national attention as an antislavery attorney and politician and was twice elected U.S. senator from Ohio and served two terms as governor. For the final volume of this series, John Niven has chosen 215 significant letters that shed light on the last phase of Chase's life, the eight and one half years that he presided over the United States Supreme Court as chief justice.
During this period, Chase and the Court grappled with an array of issues that redefined the rights of individuals and legal relationships among citizens, the federal government, and the states. Correspondence selected for this volume is particularly rich with insights into the inner workings of the Court and the judicial process. Other themes include Chase's quest for the Democratic nomination to the presidency in the elections of 1868 and 1872, his role as presiding officer during the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, and the scandalous breakup of the marriage of his socialite daughter, Kate Chase Sprague, and her millionaire husband, U.S. Senator William Sprague of Rhode Island. The volume closes with Chase's death on May 7, 1873, at the New York City residence of his youngest daughter, Janet ("Nettie") Chase Hoyt.
Representative correspondents in this volume include such national leaders as Stephen Field, Horace Greeley, Andrew Johnson, and Charles Sumner, as well as relatives and personal friends such as Jay Cooke. As in previous volumes, the editors have supplemented their meticulous transcriptions of the manuscripts with detailed notes, a chronology, an index, and a narrativeintroduction. The National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and Claremont Graduate University provide support for the edition.

Show Table of Contents [+]

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Title Page

Editorial Advisory Board

Contents

Acknowledgments

Chronology

Introduction by John Niven

Editorial Procedures

The Correspondence of Salmon P. Chase, 1858-March 1863

From Theodore Parker

To Gerrit Smith

From Joseph Medill

From Joseph Medill

To Abraham Lincoln

To Edward L. Pierce

To Charles Sumner

To James Monroe

To Joseph H. Barrett

To Thomas Spooner

To Richard C. Parsons

To Abraham Lincoln

From Edward I. Chase

To Robert Hosea

To Charles A. Dana

To John Greenleaf Whittier

To Ruhamah Ludlow Hunt

To George G. Fogg

To Benjamin F. Wade

To Winfield Scott

To George Opdyke

To Abraham Lincoln

To Norman B. Judd

To Abraham Lincoln

To William H. Seward

To Abraham Lincoln

From Richard Ela

From Henry W. Hoffman

To Hiram Barney

To Abraham Lincoln

To Samuel Hooper

To Alphonso Taft

To John J. Cisco

To William P. Mellen

To Jacob D. Cox

From Hiram Barney

To John Austin Stevens, Sr.

From Thomas M. Key

To George B. Mcclellan

From Jay Cooke

From Green Adams

To William P. Mellen

From William Nelson

From Green Adams

To John C. FrÉmont

To Charles P. Mcilvaine

To William Nelson

From Joshua F. Speed

From Garrett Davis

To Green Adams

From Joseph Medill

To William Tecumseh Sherman

To William Tecumseh Sherman

To Kate Chase

To James H. Walton

To Hiram Barney

To Abraham Lincoln

To Richard Smith

To Simon Cameron

To Cornelius S. Hamilton

From John J. Cisco

To John J. Cisco

From Edward L. Pierce

From William H. Reynolds

To John Austin Stevens, Sr.

From Edward L. Pierce

To Kate Chase

To Thaddeus Stevens

From William Sprague

From Mansfield French

To M. D. Potter

From Edward L. Pierce

To Hiram Barney

To James Monroe

From Edward L. Pierce

From Mansfield French

From Edward L. Pierce

To William P. Mellen

To Bradford R. Wood

From Edward L. Pierce

To Edwin M. Stanton

From William Nelson

To Thomas M. Key

To Jay Cooke

From Alexander Hays and James W. Hays

From Ormsby M. Mitchel

From Edward L. Pierce

To Jay Cooke

From Mary Peabody Mann

To Janet Chase

From Edward L. Pierce

To Janet Chase

From Edward L. Pierce

To Janet Chase

From Edward L. Pierce

To Edward L. Pierce

To David Hunter

To Murat Halstead

To Edwin M. Stanton

From Joseph Medill

To Irvin Mcdowell

To John Murray Forbes

To Edward L. Pierce

To Benjamin F. Butler

From George S. Denison

To William P. Fessenden

To Thaddeus Stevens

To Richard C. Parsons

To Edward Haight

To Benjamin F. Wade

To Benjamin F. Butler

To Edward L. Pierce

From William S. Rosecrans

To William Cullen Bryant

To Jay Cooke

From George Bancroft

From Robert Dale Owen

To William M. Dickson

From John Q. Smith

To William Cullen Bryant

From John Sherman

To George S. Denison

To John J. Cisco

To Horace Greeley

From John E. Williams

From Horatio G. Wright

To Alexander Sankey Latty

To Zachariah Chandler

To John Sherman

From Ormsby M. Mitchel

To Oran Follett

From William P. Mellen

From John Sherman

To John Jay

To William P. Mellen

To Ormsby M. Mitchel

To Napoleon Bonaparte Buford

From William Sprague

To Winfield Scott

To Jay Cooke

To Abraham Lincoln

From Hiram Barney

To William S. Rosecrans

To Hiram Barney

To Benjamin F. Butler

To Ezra Lincoln

To Richard C. Parsons

To George Opdyke

To Joseph H. Geiger

To Benjamin F. Butler

To Abraham Lincoln

From Benjamin F. Butler

From James A. Hamilton

To Joseph Medill

To Benjamin F. Butler

From George Opdyke

From Abraham Lincoln

To William H. Seward

To Thaddeus Stevens

From Simon Cameron

To Abraham Lincoln

To Abraham Lincoln

From Mansfield French

To William P. Fessenden

To Valentine B. Horton

To Elbridge G. Spaulding

To William P. Mellen

To Horace Greeley

From Horace Greeley

From John Sherman

To David Hunter

To Richard C. Parsons

To Galusha A. Grow

To Abraham Lincoln

To James A. Garfield

To Cuthbert Bullitt

To Abraham Lincoln

From George Opdyke

To George S. Denison

From George S. Denison

From Edward Bates

From George Opdyke

From Rufus Saxton

From Andrew Johnson

To William H. Aspin Wall and John Murray Forbes

To Robert J. Walker

From George S. Denison

From George S. Denison

Bibliography

Index
4.

The Life and Public Services of Salmon Portland Chase: United States Senator and Governor of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury and Chief-Justice of the United States (1874)
by J. W. Schuckers. 675 pgs.

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Title Page

Contents

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Chapter VIII

Chapter IX

Chapter X

Chapter XI

Chapter XII

Notes to Chapter Xii.

Chapter XIV

Chapter XV

Chapter XVI

Chapter XVII

Chapter XVIII

Chapter XIX

Chapter XX

Chapter XXI

Chapter XXII

Chapter XXIV

Chapter XXV

Chapter XXVI

Chapter XXVII

Chapter XXVIII

Chapter XXIX

Chapter XXX