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Salmon P. Chase

Salmon P. Chase
Artist
James Reid Lambdin, 10 May 1807 - 31 Jan 1889
Sitter
Salmon Portland Chase, 13 Jan 1808 - 7 May 1873
Date
c. 1864-73
Type
Painting
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
127cm x 101.6cm (50" x 40"), Accurate
Topic
Interior
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair
Printed Material\Document
Costume\Dress Accessory\Neckwear\Tie\Bowtie
Salmon Portland Chase: Male
Salmon Portland Chase: Law and Crime\Lawyer
Salmon Portland Chase: Politics and Government\Presidential candidate
Salmon Portland Chase: Politics and Government\Cabinet member\Secretary of Treasury
Salmon Portland Chase: Politics and Government\Governor\Ohio
Salmon Portland Chase: Politics and Government\Cabinet member\Secretary of State
Salmon Portland Chase: Politics and Government\US Senator\Ohio
Salmon Portland Chase: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Abolitionist
Salmon Portland Chase: Law and Crime\Judge\Justice\US Supreme Court Justice\Chief Justice of US
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1949
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.65.21
Exhibition Label
Born Cornish, New Hampshire
For much of Reconstruction, Salmon P. Chase, shown here in his Supreme Court robes, served as chief justice of the United States (1864–73). He had long championed African American rights as Ohio senator (1849–55; 1860–61) and governor (1855–59) and as a member of President Abraham Lincoln’s wartime cabinet (1860–64).
Chase usually sided with Radical Republicans who sought racial justice. In Texas v. White (1869), speaking for the Court, he ruled that secession was unconstitutional and agreed with Congress that the terms of Reconstruction were a political rather than judicial concern. In 1870, he persuaded Ohio legislators to ratify the Fifteenth Amendment, which granted suffrage to Black men. In 1873, three weeks before he died, Chase dissented in the Slaughterhouse Cases (1873). The majority decision found in favor of states’ rights, granting opponents of Black voting rights various possibilities for disenfranchisement.
Nacido en Cornish, Nuevo Hampshire
Salmon P. Chase, aquí con su toga del Tribunal Supremo, presidió ese cuerpo (1864–73) durante gran parte de la Reconstrucción. Defendió los derechos de los afroamericanos como senador (1849–55; 1860–61) y gobernador (1855–59) de Ohio, y como miembro del gabinete de Abraham Lincoln durante la guerra (1860–64).
Chase se aliaba usualmente con los republicanos radicales que buscaban la igualdad racial. En Texas v. White (1869), dictaminó en nombre del Tribunal que la secesión era inconstitucional y concordó con el Congreso en que los términos de la Reconstrucción eran cuestión política más que judicial. En 1870 persuadió a los legisladores de Ohio para que ratificaran la Enmienda 15, que otorgó el sufragio a los hombres afroamericanos. En 1873, tres semanas antes de su muerte, disintió en los Casos de los mataderos (1873). El Tribunal falló a favor de las leyes estatales, abriendo posibilidades para coartar los derechos de los afroamericanos al voto.
Provenance
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; gift to Smithsonian Institution 1949; transferred 1965 to NPG.
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Exhibition
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
On View
NPG, East Gallery 123