Salmon P. Chase: A Biography

by John Niven

Salmon P. Chase was one of the preeminent men of 19th-century America. A majestic figure, tall and stately, Chase was a leader in the fight to end slavery, a brilliant administrator who as Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury provided crucial funding for a vastly expensive war, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court during the turmoil of Reconstruction, and the presiding officer of the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson. Yet he was also a complex figure. As John Niven reveals in this magisterial biography, Chase was a paradoxical blend of idealism and ambition. If he stood for the highest moral purposes--the freedom and equality of all mankind--these lofty ideas failed to mask a thirst for power so deeply ingrained in his character that it drove away many who shared his principles, but mistrusted his motives.
Niven provides a vivid description of Chase's early years--his childhood in New Hampshire (where his father's failed business venture and early death left the family all but destitute) and in Ohio (where he was sent to live with his uncle Philander, an Episcopal bishop), his education at Dartmouth, and his early law career in Cincinnati. Niven shows how the plight of the slaves stirred this reticent young lawyer, and how Chase gradually moved to the forefront of the antislavery movement. At the same time, we see how he used his growing prominence in the antislavery movement to forward his political ambitions. Niven illuminates Chase's long tenure as a public man. Twice elected United States Senator, twice chosen governor of Ohio (then the third most populous state in the Union), Chase organized the widespread but diffuse anti-slavery movement into a workable political organization, the Free Soil party (whose slogan "Free Soil, Free Labor, Freemen" Chase coined himself). We read of
Chase's work in Lincoln's war cabinet and his tenure as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and we also follow his many political maneuvers, his attempts to undercut rivals, and his poorly run campaigns for presidential nominations. Niven also provides an intimate portrait of Chase's family life--his loss of three wives and four of his six children, and the unfortunate marriage of his beautiful daughter Kate to a rich but dissolute man--and a vivid picture of life at mid-century.
What emerges is a portrait of a tragic figure, whose high qualities of heart and mind and whose many achievements were ultimately tarnished by an often unseemly quest for power. It is a striking look at an eminent statesman as well as a revealing glimpse into political life in 19th-century America, all set against a background of the anti-slavery movement, the Civil War, and the turmoil of Reconstruction.

Genres: American Civil War, Biography, Politics

576 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

An educator and historian, (William) John Niven earned a BA from the University of Connecticut in 1943, an MA from Columbia University in 1947 and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1954. He was an instructor at Mitchell College from 1949 until 1951 and taught at the Claremont Graduate School from 1965 until his retirement in 1990, where he served as professor of American history and chairman of the Graduate Faculty of History.

Reviews

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Salmon P. Chase was one of the complex characters of the 19th century. A genuine idealist who did
yeoman service in the anti-slavery cause he was also the victim of a bad ambition and salivated at
the thought of being president. That's what John Niven's book on Chase presents us with.

Like so many of his peers in the Great Lakes area, Chase was from New England, born in 1808 to some
god fearing Puritan parents. Death was always around Chase, his father died when he was 11 and Chase went to live with an uncle in Ohio. He had several siblings and most of them died in their
childhood. Going back to New Hampshire, he went to Dartmouth, graduated and read law with
William Wirt and went back to the Cincinnati area to practice.

Chase was married 3 times. All three wives died as did several children save for two daughters. All
that death around has to affect the soul.

Chase got into the anti-slavery movement when James Birney of the Liberty Party brought him a
fugitive slave case. Chase took it and gained a reputation in those circles. Elected to the Cincinnati
City Council n 1840 for one term, Chase supported Birney in his 3rd party presidential candidacy in
1844. Chase had his own career to advance and negotiations with the budding Free Soil Democrats
helped get Chase elected as one to the US Senate from Ohio in 1849.

Chase wanted the White House and still was looking for the party vehicle to get him there. He was
not re-elected and after looking over the Know Nothing Party decided he was better served by the new Republican party. He got elected governor in 1856 and served until 1860. He was a candidate
for president in 1860 but it was Abraham Lincoln who was nominated and became president to
preside over the Civil War.

Lincoln looking for a strong leadership team invited among others Chase, William Seward, and
Edward Bates all rivals for the nomination in his Cabinet. Chase became Secretary of the Treasury.

It was his job to finance the war and he worked with the bankers to do it. Chief among them was
Jay Cooke's company. Chase floated Greenbacks and had his handsome mug on them to let the
public know just who was responsible for keeping the Union Army in the field. Lots of bond issues
were done also. Jay Cooke got very rich and those Greenbacks were to be a political issue for a
generation. But the war was financed.

Chase was forever scheming, maybe he could be the candidate in 1864 instead of Lincoln who liked
Chase's performance on the job, but had enough of his scheming. His resignation which was proffered many times as a negotiating tool with Lincoln finally got accepted. When aged Chief
Justice Roger B. Taney died, Lincoln appointed Chase as the new Chief. Chase swore Lincoln in for
his second term before the assassination.

Being Chief Justice might have been enough for anyone. By dint of his scheming to be president
Chase will never get ranked among the best of those who served there. He got high marks for a
dignified and legal presiding over the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson. But as Ulysses Grant
was sewing up the GOP nomination in 1868, Chase was busy dropping big broad hints that he was
available for them. There were few who saluted that candidacy as it went up the flagpole.

Chase continued in the office and died in said office in 1873. If he wasn't such an intriguer he'd
have a higher standing in history. As it is he is the man who financed the Civil War.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Salmon Portland Chase was Secretary of the Treasury during the Lincoln administration, and after that he became Chief Justice of the United States and presided over Andrew Johnson's impeachment proceedings. This book gave a good overview of his life and the forces that shaped him both personally and politically. This was a little on the long side, but I think it had to be, as it is the biography of a man who was a lawyer, senator, cabinet member, and chief justice.

[Brandon Claycomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is worth reading for anyone who's interested enough in the Civil War to want to read the same story from different perspectives. I was particularly impressed at the way the author dealt with Lincoln as a fallible human being. Two examples show this particularly well. Lincoln not only dismissed his corrupt first Secretary of War Simon Cameron but made him his minister to Russia. This is typically portrayed as a Machiavellian masterstroke, an almost literal banishment to Siberia. I've read this story perhaps a half dozen times, all in similar terms. Nevin is the first author I've read who's provided the crucial back story that Cameron had made it known that he would step down from the cabinet in exchange for a foreign ministry, and Cassius Clay was at that time asking to come home from St. Petersburg. Lincoln wasn't being cruel in sending Cameron to Russia, he was offering him the way out he had requested. Second, Doris Kearns Goodwin in particular presents Lincoln's handling of Chase as masterful, proposing that Lincoln got the most out of his former rival until the point in 1864 when his renomination for president was finally locked up and Chase could no longer act as his rival, at which point he coolly accepted the last of Chase's many resignations. Nevin shows, however, that Lincoln was actually careless in accepting this resignation. He had not begun to search for a possible replacement, and was lucky to be able to twist Senator William Pitt Fessenden's arm to take the post. If Fessenden had demurred, Lincoln might have had much greater trouble with Congress and the country's finances might have suffered at a time when the outcome of the war was still in doubt.

In other words, Nevin succeeds in painting Lincoln neither as a saint nor a monster. For that reason alone this book is worth the read. But Nevin brings comparable care to all of his analysis. There are whole chapters I skimmed, but every section that I read carefully was well worth it. Highly recommended.(less)

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid biography, although I think there were sections on Civil War era financial policy that were a bit dense without more context.

On the Our History group, I had mentioned my fascination with people who were supremely well known in their time but virtually forgotten today. Salmon Chase is one of them. Former senator and governor from Ohio, Lincoln's treasury secretary and chief justice of the Supreme Court, yet I would bet almost no one could place him today. He was a staunch anti-slavery advocate, helped found the Republican Party, almost defeated Lincoln for the party's first presidential nomination, and then caused enough rivalry as treasury secretary that Lincoln eventually forced him out, but gave him the consolation prize of chief justice.

An imposing man physically and highly moral, Chase also presided over the impeachment trail of Andrew Johnson. A brilliant and controversial figure, now lost in the mists of time for most people.

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unsung hero, hardcore abolitionist and presidential candidate on numerous years, this is a very well done bio on Salmon Chase, governor of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury during the Civil War and Supreme Court Chief Justice during the Impeachment of Johnson, Reconstruction and other historic moments.

As a lawyer in Cincinnati, he represented many Blacks and Whites that violated the Fugitive Slave Act, trying as many different ways to get the win to the those that needed it. While he was not successful, he kept pursuing, kept learning the law and when it came to Reconstruction, he worked hard to block moves to unravel the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments in his areas in the States that fell under his control.

A schemer, he was constantly trying to get elected president and came within the win zone in 1860. He made attempts in 1856 and secretly in 1864. President Lincoln got him to drop his move in exchange for the Chief Justice slot.

Very interesting bio.

[Robert J · Rating 2 out of 5]

VERY detailed and interesting alsomst to much so. If your looking for a fast read don't look here.