Willard Carl Klunder - Lewis Cass and the Politics of Moderation

Willard Carl Klunder

The Kent State University Press

KENT, OHIO, & LONDON, ENGLAND

1996 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 95-37385

ISBN 0-87338-536-5

Manufactured in the United States of America

04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 96 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Klunder, Willard Carl, 1947

Lewis Cass and the politics of moderation / Willard Carl Klunder.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-87338-536-5 (hc : alk. paper)

1. Cass, Lewis, 17821866. 2. StatesmenUnited StatesBiography.

3. United StatesPolitics and government17831865.

4. GovernorsMichiganBiography. 5. MichiganPolitics and

governmentTo 1837. 1. Title.

E 340. C 3 K 57 1996

977.403092dc20

[B] 95-37385

British Library Cataloging-in-Publication data are available.

For Kathy and for Kristin, Catherine, & Erica,
who taught me the art
of compromise.

L EWIS C ASS is a curiously neglected historical figure. Born in 1782, he survived the Civil War and, during a career that spanned more than half a century, variously served as a prosecuting attorney, state legislator, federal marshal, army officer, territorial governor, secretary of war, minister to France, United States senator, and secretary of state.

Two comprehensive biographies of Cass written by William T. Young and William L. G. Smith were designed to drum up support for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 1850s. Young, for instance, fawningly portrays Cass as the first statesman of his country, scarcely less known and celebrated among the Great Powers of Europe, than in his own country, and wherever known commanding attention, esteem and respect. Despite limitations of analysis and scope, these works contain important source materials not conveniently assembled elsewhere.

Andrew C. McLaughlin was the other nineteenth-century biographer of Lewis Cass. His work was published in 1891 and revised eight years later as part of the American Statesman Series. Although McLaughlin provides a more judicious characterization of his subject than either Young or Smith, he confesses to being somewhat hampered by the lack of Casss private papers.

More recent studies of Cass have drawn upon the expanding collections of his correspondence, notably those of the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan and the Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library. Nevertheless, it is a tedious and sometimes virtually impossible task to decipher the available documents. The problem, as Cass personally acknowledged, was the miserable scrawl in which he

In light of the delay in gathering his papers and the difficulties encountered in translating them, it is not surprising modern scholars have been reluctant to undertake studies of Lewis Cass. It is, moreover, a bit daunting to tackle the sheer scope of his extensive public life; Cass played a role in major historical events from the Burr conspiracy through the Trent affair. In 1950, Frank B. Woodford of the Detroit Free Press presented a popular and highly laudatory biography. Twenty years later, Willis F. Dunbar provided a reasoned sketch of Casss political career. Several dissertations likewise shed considerable light on various aspects of Casss public life, but no comprehensive, scholarly biography exists. It is hoped that this book will contribute to a better understanding of the significance of Lewis Cass to the course of American history.

I incurred numerous obligations in the course of writing this biography. Robert W. Johannsen, my graduate adviser at the University of Illinois, suggested the topic and guided my initial study. His authoritative work on Stephen A. Douglas both inspired and deflated me with its sweeping scope, erudition, and seemingly effortless style. Fredrick J. Blue and Eugene H. Berwanger conscientiously read earlier versions of the manuscript and provided thoughtful suggestions. Fran Majors typed several drafts and aided me in meeting deadlines. My colleagues, notably Ralph Gray at Indiana University, Indianapolis, and Jim Duram at Wichita State University, repeatedly bolstered my spirits. The generally gentle proddings of John Dreifort, chairman of the WSU history department, also encouraged me to complete this project.

The editorial staff of The Kent State University Press, under the leadership of John T. Hubbell, has been extrememly supportive. Senior Editor Julia Morton and Assistant Editor Linda Cuckovich have been unflaggingly cordial and receptive to my proposals; unsung copyeditors have deftly improved the quality of the text. It has been a pleasant experience working with everyone connected with this publication.

I am, of course, indebted to more people than can possibly be acknowledged individually. The personnel of the libraries and depositories listed in the bibliography were uniformly courteous and helpful. I owe a special word of appreciation to those who facilitated my research at the University of Illinois, the Burton Historical Collection, the William L. Clements Library, the Michigan State Archives, and the Library of Congress. Wichita State University provided a reduced teaching load one semester and a summer research grant. The J. K. Sowards professional development fund partially underwrote my search for potential illustrations.

Others contributed to this book as well. Craig Torbenson, who makes up the geography department at Wichita State, prepared the maps. Henry Ledyard of Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, the namesake of Casss son-in-law, graciously shared with me his family recollections. Members of my own family responded to my prolonged labors in various ways, depending on their predilections and level of maturity, ranging from insensibility to enthusiasm. And, ultimately, I am profoundly grateful to my mother, Dorothy Ross Pollack, who instilled in me the love of learning she inherited from Jack and Irene. Thank you all.

L EWIS C ASS scribbled an affectionate letter to his young grandson during the summer of 1858. My dear Child, wrote the seventy-five-year-old secretary of state, I send you five dollars for piscatory purposes. Every one to his taste. Fishing is not to mine. Dr. Johnson defined a fishing rod to be a pole, with a hook and line at one end, and a fool at the other. Political opponents at times thought Lewis Cass the fool, but all would agree that for more than half a century he lacked the leisure time to spend fishing, even had he so wished. Casss life spanned the period of American history from the Revolution through the Civil War. From the time of his election as a prosecuting attorney in 1804, he almost continuously held some public office. Cass received his first federal appointment from President Thomas Jefferson, and he remained in the political arena past Abraham Lincolns election.

Lewis Cass was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and trained as a lawyer. He served as a general officer during the War of 1812 and was included in General William Hulls ignominious surrender of Detroit. Appointed governor of Michigan Territory in 1813, Cass held that post for eighteen years as Michigan grew to the brink of statehood. In 1831, he was selected as Andrew Jacksons secretary of war, an office he resigned five years later to become United States minister to France. He returned to America in 1842, after quarreling with the secretary of state over the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. Cass was a disappointed aspirant for the Democratic presidential nomination of 1844, but the following year the Michigan legislature sent him to the United States Senate. He remained a member of that body until 1857, resigning briefly after his nomination for the presidency in 1848. Following his defeat by Zachary Taylor, Senator Cass again sought the presidential nomination and nearly succeeded in capturing it at the Democratic conventiononly the two-thirds rule blocked his selection during the early balloting. The election of 1852 foreshadowed the end of Casss national political influence. His fellow Democrat, Franklin Pierce, did not consult him regarding cabinet appointments, and the aged Michigan senator took himself out of consideration for the presidential nomination four years later. James Buchanan selected Cass as his secretary of state in 1857, but Buchanan was motivated by political considerations and expected to take firm personal command of American foreign affairs. Cass spent the Civil War years in quiet support of the Union cause.