Zachariah Chandler

Zachariah Chandler
United States Senator from Michigan
In office February 22, 1879 – November 1, 1879
Preceded by	Isaac P. Christiancy
Succeeded by	Henry P. Baldwin
In office March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1875
Preceded by	Lewis Cass
Succeeded by	Isaac P. Christiancy
Chair of the Republican National Committee
In office June 1876 – November 1, 1879
Preceded by	Edwin D. Morgan
Succeeded by	J. Donald Cameron
12th United States Secretary of the Interior
In office October 19, 1875 – March 11, 1877
President	Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes
Preceded by	Columbus Delano
Succeeded by	Carl Schurz
Mayor of Detroit
In office 1851–1852
Preceded by	John Ladue
Succeeded by	John H. Harmon
Personal details
Born	(1813-12-10)December 10, 1813 Bedford, New Hampshire, U.S.
Died	November 1, 1879(1879-11-01) (aged 65) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Whig (before 1854) Republican (1854–1879)
Spouse	Letitia Douglas
Signature

Zachariah Chandler (December 10, 1813 – November 1, 1879) was an American businessman, politician, and one of the founders of the Republican Party, whose radical wing he dominated as a lifelong abolitionist. He was mayor of Detroit, a four-term senator from the state of Michigan, and Secretary of the Interior under President Ulysses S. Grant.

As a successful young businessman in Detroit, Chandler supported the Underground Railroad. During the Civil War, he advocated for the Union war effort, the abolition of slavery, and civil rights for freed African Americans. As Secretary of the Interior, Chandler eradicated serious corruption in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, fully endorsing President Grant's Peace Policy initiative to civilize American Indian tribes. In 1879, he was re-elected U.S. Senator and was a potential presidential candidate, but he died the following morning after giving a speech in Chicago.