Lewis Cass

Lewis Cass
Secretary Lewis Cass, c. 1855
22nd United States Secretary of State
In office March 6, 1857 – December 14, 1860
President	James Buchanan
Preceded by	William Marcy
Succeeded by	Jeremiah Black
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office December 4, 1854 – December 5, 1854
Preceded by	David Rice Atchison
Succeeded by	Jesse Bright
United States Senator from Michigan
In office March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1857
Preceded by	Thomas Fitzgerald
Succeeded by	Zachariah Chandler
In office March 4, 1845 – May 29, 1848
Preceded by	Augustus Porter
Succeeded by	Thomas Fitzgerald
United States Ambassador to France
In office December 1, 1836 – November 12, 1842
President	Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren William Henry Harrison John Tyler
Preceded by	Edward Livingston
Succeeded by	William King
14th United States Secretary of War
In office August 1, 1831 – October 4, 1836
President	Andrew Jackson
Preceded by	Roger B. Taney (Acting)
Succeeded by	Joel Roberts Poinsett
2nd Governor of the Michigan Territory
In office October 13, 1813 – August 1, 1831
Appointed by	James Madison
Preceded by	William Hull
Succeeded by	George Porter
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
In office 1806–1807
Personal details
Born	(1782-10-09)October 9, 1782 Exeter, New Hampshire, U.S.
Died	June 17, 1866(1866-06-17) (aged 83) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Eliza Spencer ​ ​ (m. 1806; died 1853)​
Children	7
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1812–1814
Rank	Brigadier General
Unit	27th U.S. Infantry
Battles/wars	War of 1812 Detroit Campaign Battle of River Canard Battle of the Thames

Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782 – June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He was also the 1848 Democratic presidential nominee. A slave owner himself,^[1] he was a leading spokesman for the doctrine of popular sovereignty, which at the time held the idea that people in each U.S state should have the right to decide on whether to permit or prohibit slavery, believing in the idea of states rights.

Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, he attended Phillips Exeter Academy before establishing a legal practice in Zanesville, Ohio. After serving in the Ohio House of Representatives, he was appointed as a U.S. Marshal. Cass also joined the Freemasons and would eventually co-found the Grand Lodge of Michigan. He fought at the Battle of the Thames in the War of 1812 and was appointed to govern Michigan Territory in 1813. He negotiated treaties with American tribes to open land for American settlement as part of the belief in the 19th century phrase “manifest destiny” at the time, and led a survey expedition into the northwest part of the territory.

Cass resigned as governor in 1831 to accept appointment as Secretary of War under Andrew Jackson. As Secretary of War, he helped implement Jackson's policy of Indian removal. After serving as ambassador to France from 1836 to 1842, he unsuccessfully sought the presidential nomination at the 1844 Democratic National Convention; a deadlock between supporters of Cass and former President Martin Van Buren ended with the nomination of James K. Polk. In 1845, the Michigan Legislature elected Cass to the Senate, where he served until 1848. Cass's nomination at the 1848 Democratic National Convention precipitated a split in the party, as Cass's advocacy for popular sovereignty alienated the anti-slavery wing of the party. Van Buren led the Free Soil Party's presidential ticket and appealed to many anti-slavery Democrats, possibly contributing to the victory of Whig nominee Zachary Taylor.

Cass returned to the Senate in 1849 and continued to serve until 1857 when he accepted appointment as the Secretary of State. He unsuccessfully sought to buy land from Mexico and sympathized with American filibusters in Latin America. Cass resigned from the Cabinet in December 1860 in protest of Buchanan's handling of the threatened secession of several Southern states. Since his death in 1866, he has been commemorated in various ways, including with a statue in the National Statuary Hall.