James Reid Lambdin, 10 May 1807 - 31 Jan 1889 Search this
Sitter:
Salmon Portland Chase, 13 Jan 1808 - 7 May 1873 Search this
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
127cm x 101.6cm (50" x 40"), Accurate
Type:
Painting
Date:
c. 1864-73
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.
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1949
