(October 9, 1782 – June 17, 1866)

Lewis Cass  was a military officer and politician, born in Exeter, New Hampshire,
he moved with his family to Marietta, Ohio in 1800. He served as a brigadier
general during the War of 1812 and participated in the Battle of the Thames
and as a result he was rewarded for his military service by being appointed
Governor of the Michigan Territory by President James Madison on October
29, 1813, and served until 1831.On August 1, 1831, Cass resigned as governor
of the Michigan Territory to take the post of Secretary of War under President
Andrew Jackson, a position he would hold until 1836.

During his long political career he was an American ambassador to France, a U.S. Senator, representing Michigan. In 1848, Cass was the Democratic nominee for
president, but lost to Zachary Taylor. From 1857 to 1860, Cass also served as
Secretary of State under President James Buchanan. Lewis Cass was nationally
known as a leading spokesman for the very controversial Doctrine of Popular
Sovereignty, which would have allowed voters in the territories to determine
whether to make slavery legal instead of having Congress make the decision.

A Statue of Lewis Cass stands as part The National
Statuary Hall Collection located in the U.S. Capitol.

NOTE: LEWIS CASS IS A BRANCH ON THIS BLOGGERS FAMILY TREE.