Title

Salmon P. Chase : a biography

Description

Salmon P. Chase was one of the preeminent men of nineteenth-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, he was 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 motives failed to mask a thirst for power so deeply ingrained in his character that it drove away many who shared his principles, but invariably mistrusted his motives. 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 of nineteenth-century America, all set against a background of the antislavery movement, the Civil War, and the turmoil of Reconstruction.

Identifier

539222

195046536

Creator

Niven, John

Source

Brian Lamb Booknotes Collection

Gift of Brian Lamb, 2011.

Catalog record

Language

eng

Date

1995

Program air date: May 28, 1995

Publisher

Oxford University Press

George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives

Text

Transcription of Annotations
Notes on front endpaper: Chase--wanted to end slavery. "Quest for Power." b. Jan. 13, 1808, Cornish, N.H.. Lincoln's Sec. of the Treasury, Chief Justice during Reconstruction. New Hampshire--father died. Ohio (Cincinnati), Dartmouth. U.S. Senate, Gov. of Ohio (twice), Free Soil Party (organized it), 3 wives, all died; 6 children, 4 died. Presided over impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson. Niven-Prof. Emeritus Claremont Graduate School. Editor-Salmon P. Chase Papers. May 8, 1820-arrived in Cleveland. Troubled by Congressional conduct, p. 25-26. Underlinings/Notes: Underlinings: Lamb underlines descriptions of Chase, his ambitions, morality, family life, education, career, acquaintances, influences, political beliefs and character. Births/deaths of family members. Notes: "Opposed to impeachment," "Federalist newspapers," "President Adams two open houses a month," "Mother died at 59," "cholera 1932 [ie 1832],"" Married Catherine [Garniss]," "wife died," "city council 1840," "married, he was 31 she was 18 Eliza Ann Smith," "daughter dies," "Lizzie dies," "Grant second inaugural," "death May 7, 1873 65 years old."

Subject

"Chase, Salmon P. (Salmon Portland), 1808-1873."

"United States. Congress. Senate--Biography."

"Legislators--United States--Biography."

"Judges--United States--Biography."

"Governors--Ohio--Biography."

Relation

Original Booknotes interview

Rights

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