Salmon P. Chase

Details

Birth

January 13, 1808 · Cornish, New Hampshire

Death

May 7, 1873

Law school

dartmouth college; read law (Wirt, William)

Prior experience

Various legal and public service prior to appointment

Biography

Salmon Portland Chase (1808–1873) was an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States from 1864 until his death. Born in Cornish, New Hampshire, Chase graduated from Dartmouth College in 1826 and studied law in Washington, D.C., before establishing a legal practice in Cincinnati, Ohio. He gained prominence as an antislavery attorney, defending fugitive slaves and earning the nickname "attorney general for runaway negroes." Chase served as a U.S. Senator from Ohio (1849–1855, 1861) and as the state's governor (1856–1860). As a founder of the Republican Party, he sought the presidential nomination in 1860 and 1864. President Abraham Lincoln appointed him Secretary of the Treasury in 1861, where Chase helped finance the Civil War through innovative measures including the creation of a national banking system and the first federal paper currency. Lincoln nominated Chase as Chief Justice in December 1864, despite their political rivalry and Chase's continued presidential ambitions. On the Court, Chase presided over the Reconstruction era and demonstrated a judicial philosophy that balanced federal authority with individual rights. His most significant opinions included Texas v. White (1869), which held that states could not unilaterally secede from the Union, and his participation in the Legal Tender Cases, where he initially opposed the constitutionality of paper money as legal tender. Chase also presided over President Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial in 1868, earning praise for his impartial conduct. His legacy encompasses his crucial role in financing the Union victory, his leadership during the Court's navigation of post-Civil War constitutional questions, and his contributions to establishing federal monetary policy that shaped American economic development.

Notable opinions

• Texas v. White
• Hepburn v. Griswold