Salmon P. Chase

Lincoln's Vital Rival

By: Walter Stahr

Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon

An NPR Best Book of 2022

From an acclaimed New York Times bestselling biographer, an “eloquently written, impeccably researched, and intensely moving” (The Wall Street Journal) reassessment of Abraham Lincoln’s indispensable Secretary of the Treasury: a leading proponent for black rights during his years in cabinet and later as Chief Justice of the United States.

Salmon P. Chase is best remembered as a rival of Lincoln’s for the Republican nomination in 1860—but there would not have been a national Republican Party, and Lincoln could not have won the presidency, were it not for the groundwork Chase laid over the previous two decades. Starting in the early 1840s, long before Lincoln was speaking out against slavery, Chase was forming and leading antislavery parties. He represented fugitive slaves so often in his law practice that he was known as the attorney general for runaway negroes.

Tapped by Lincoln to become Secretary of the Treasury, Chase would soon prove vital to the Civil War effort, raising the billions of dollars that allowed the Union to win the war while also pressing the president to recognize black rights. When Lincoln had the chance to appoint a chief justice in 1864, he chose his faithful rival because he was sure Chase would make the right decisions on the difficult racial, political, and economic issues the Supreme Court would confront during Reconstruction.

Drawing on previously overlooked sources, Walter Stahr offers a “revelatory” (The Christian Science Monitor) new look at the pivotal events of the Civil War and its aftermath, and a “superb” (James McPherson), “magisterial” (Amanda Foreman) account of a complex forgotten man at the center of the fight for racial justice in 19th century America.

©2021 Walter Stahr. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

A great biographer

Stahr tends to select under-appreciated figures in American History and give them the attention they deserve. This biography of Salmon P. Chase is excellent. Chase’s critical role in advancing the political cause of antislavery, even at a time when it was still very unpopular in the North is one important aspect of his legacy. A worthwhile read.

This man was a big deal in our history

Excellent book. I learned a lot about an important national figure who is not as well known as he should be. The narrator is excellent and I would like him to read other books. My only criticism (more audio editor than narrator) is that several places names in Illinois and Wisconsin and several common names are badly mispronounced. It seems like an editor should have caught them.

Chase

Story is good. The reader was fine. But, he mispronounced several names and cities.

TERRIBLE NARRATION

This was a fairly good biography, if a bit more slanted than I would have liked. The narrator was terrible, mispronouncing so many names and places that is was distracting.

Excellent Biography

Great detail and wonderful narration.
Story told from actual diary entries by Chase. Someone should make a film about this man.

Very inspiring and insightful

Great biography of Salmon P. Chase. Governor of Ohio, Senator, Treasury Secretary, and Supreme Court Justice. A man ahead of his time on slavery and women’s rights.

Great narration by Timothy Andres Pabon.

boring

This book had far too much detail for me, irrelevant to the story of this man’s accomplishments. If the author found any previously unreported details of Chase’s life, no matter how distantly related to Chase, the author added them, seemingly to score points among his professional historian peers. Just not worth slogging through.