 | BIOGRAPHY
Lewis Cass
Secretary of State,
Term of Appointment:
03/06/1857 to
12/14/1860
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- Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, October 9, 1782;
- Attended Exeter Academy;
- Went to the Northwest Territory in 1799;
- Admitted to the bar in 1802 and practiced in Zanesville, Ohio;
- Married Elizabeth Spencer in 1806;
- Elected to the Ohio House of Representatives the same year;
- United States Marshal for the District of Ohio, 1807-1812;
- Served with distinction in the War of 1812, attaining the rank of brigadier general;
- Governor of Michigan Territory, 1813-1831;
- Secretary of War in President Jackson's Cabinet, 1831-1836;
- Served as Minister to France 1836-1842;
- Unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1844 and again in 1852;
- Senator from Michigan 1845-1848;
- Was the Democratic candidate for the Presidency in 1848;
- Again a Senator from Michigan, 1849-1857;
- Secretary of State in President Buchanan's Cabinet March 6, 1857 until December 14, 1860;
- As Secretary of State, obtained British acceptance of the American construction of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and abandonment by Great Britain of its claim to a right to visit and search American vessels;
- Returned to his home in Detroit, Michigan, and engaged in literary pursuits;
- Died in Detroit on June 17, 1866.
Released on July 15, 2003
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