CHASE, SALMON PORTLAND

Salmon Portland Chase (1808–1873) was a lawyer who was deeply devoted to the antislavery movement. This cause led him to political life, where he became the first Republican governor of Ohio. Though he tried unsuccessfully to run for president several times, he did serve as Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Salmon Chase was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, on January 13, 1808. He attended public school at Keene, New Hampshire, and then attended private school in Vermont. When he was nine years old, Chase's father passed away and his uncle, Philander Chase, an early leader of the American Episcopal Church, raised him. Chase pursued classical and religious studies at his uncle's church school near Columbus, Ohio. His uncle then became president of Cincinnati College, and Chase studied there as well for a brief time. Later, Chase entered Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1826.

After graduation, Chase worked briefly as the headmaster of a boys' school in Washington, DC, and privately studied law. In 1829 he was admitted to the bar and soon returned to Cincinnati to practice law. The city, located on the northern bank of the Ohio River, was a busy trade port whose opposite bank bordered slave territory. Chase held deeply rooted moral opinions stemming from his upbringing and was strongly opposed to slavery. He quickly entrenched himself in the antislavery cause and soon earned a reputation as the "attorney for runaway Negroes."

Chase had a rather sad private life. His first wife died a year after their marriage, his second wife died after five years, and his third wife after six years. Of his six children, only two daughters grew to adulthood. These tragic experiences deepened his religious fervor.

In public life, however, Chase was quite successful. His strong sentiments for the antislavery movement shaped his political associations. In 1840 he helped organize the Liberty Party and then became active in the Free Soil Party in 1848. It was on the Free Soil ticket that Chase was elected to a six-year term in the United States Senate in 1849. He continued his fight against slavery as a Senator and opposed the Missouri Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.

In 1854 Chase helped establish the Republican Party in Ohio. Three years later he was elected the first Republican governor of the state. Chase was re-elected in 1857 and was widely considered a potential presidential candidate. Because of his fluid party affiliations, however, Chase could not garner enough support from one party to run for president. When Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865) won the presidency, Chase was appointed to Lincoln's Cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury.

In this position Chase faced the difficult task of organizing the country's finances during the American Civil War (1861–1865). Large sums of money had to be borrowed, bonds marketed, and the national currency kept as stable as possible. Chase was even forced to issue paper currency, or "greenbacks," to help finance the war, although he personally favored hard currency. Despite these challenges Chase also managed to develop a national banking system, which opened a market for bonds and stabilized currency.

While Chase was successful in his position as Secretary of the Treasury, he was often in disagreement with the president and with other members of the Cabinet. Chase was disappointed with the Emancipation Proclamation, believing its stand against slavery was too weak. In 1864 he resigned as Secretary of the Treasury and sought the Republican nomination for president. His bid was unsuccessful, however, because of Lincoln's intense popularity with the public. Instead, Chase made several speeches on Lincoln's behalf during the campaign. When Lincoln again won the presidency, he appointed Chase Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Chase presided over the Supreme Court during the troubled Reconstruction period (1865–1877). His important tasks were to restore the Southern judicial system and uphold the law against congressional invasion. Chase also supported the Radical Republicans, who believed that African Americans should be guaranteed their civil rights before the southern states could be readmitted to the Union. Chase's most memorable role as Chief Justice was presiding over the impeachment proceedings of President Andrew Johnson (1865–1869), for which he commended for his fairness and devotion to justice during the proceedings.

Even while serving as Chief Justice, Chase still sought the post of U.S. President, hoping to become Lincoln's successor. He tried to secure the Democratic nomination in 1868 and the Liberal Republican nomination in 1872, but was unsuccessful both times. Chase died of a stroke in 1873.

See also: Emancipation Proclamation, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Missouri Compromise, Slavery

FURTHER READING

Blue, Frederick J. Salmon P. Chase: A Life in Politics. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1987.

Chase, Salmon P. The Salmon P. Chase Papers. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1993.

Middleton, Stephen. Ohio and the Antislavery Activities of Attorney Salmon Portland Chase, 1830–1849. New York: Garland, 1990.

Niven, John. Salmon P. Chase: A Biography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Niven, John, and Frederick J. Blue. "Salmon P. Chase." The Journal of American History, 82, December 1995.