Learn about Salmon P. Chase
In downtown Cincinnati at the southeast corner of 3rd and Main Streets, an Ohio historical marker introduces Salmon P. Chase, an anti-slavery attorney and politician. Chase garnered national attention by helping organize the Liberty, Free-Soil, and Republican parties. He grew up in a family with a farm and a faith that required hard work. He attended Dartmouth College and passed the bar 1829, and by 1830 had founded the Cincinnati Lyceum for scientific and literary pursuit to raise funds for speakers and create a library.
Feeling that slavery was a moral sin, he put his anti-slavery beliefs into practice by defending escapees and those charged with aiding fugitives. Chase served as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1864-73) and presided over President Andrew Johnson‘s impeachment in 1868. Chase also served as a Cincinnati city councilman (1840-41), U.S. Senator from Ohio (1849-55), and the first Republican governor of Ohio (1856-60). He established the Bureau for Engraving and Printing and what would later become the Internal Revenue Service.
Related Article: George Washington Williams, First African American elected from Cincinnati to the Ohio Legislature
The $10,000 bill bears Salmon P. Chase’s face to commemorate his time as President Abraham Lincoln‘s Secretary of the Treasury (1861-64). Chase Bank also bears his name, as does a street and school in the Northside, Ohio. Chase was a dedicated public servant whose anti-slavery efforts, remarkable life, and purposeful career are conveyed with the National Parks Service Network to Freedom distinction. His gravesite is in Spring Grove Cemetery.
Location
302 E 3rd Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Public Information and Further Reading
302 E. 3rd Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. Downtown – SE corner of 3rd and Main Street / Latitude: 39.0990680, Longitude: -84.5089430
What’s there today: Ohio Historical Marker
Salmon Portland Chase Historical Marker
Related Article: Step Into History with the Freedom Journey App
About The Freedom Journey App
Follow Underground Railroad stories of courage along the Ohio River border with the GPS-mapped and historically accurate Freedom Journey App, filled with accredited content created by America’s River Roots in collaboration with the Cincinnati Museum Center and National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Speak the names of the abolitionists and Freedom Seekers risking everything for freedom.
This digital platform leads to the pivotal stories that honor those who, against all odds, pursued freedom. These brave souls and specific locations still have much to say.
Credit: All content and images courtesy of America’s River Roots. Used with permission. This content was created in full accreditation and partnership with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the Cincinnati Museum Center. App content was authored by Holly Brians Ragusa
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