Caleb Cushing

author

Caleb Cushing

1800–1879

A sharp-minded lawyer and diplomat of the 19th century, he moved through Congress, the Cabinet, and high-stakes missions abroad. His career reached from Massachusetts politics to China and Spain, making him a vivid figure in American public life before and after the Civil War.

1 Audiobook

Speech of Mr. Cushing, of Massachusetts, on the Right of Petition, as Connected with Petitions for the Abolition of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the District of Columbia. In The House Of Representatives, January 25, 1836.

Speech of Mr. Cushing, of Massachusetts, on the Right of Petition, as Connected with Petitions for the Abolition of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the District of Columbia. In The House Of Representatives, January 25, 1836.

by Caleb Cushing

About the author

Born in Salisbury, Massachusetts, in 1800, Caleb Cushing entered Harvard at a very young age and went on to build a reputation as a gifted lawyer, writer, and public speaker. He served in the Massachusetts legislature and then in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he became known as an energetic and highly educated public figure.

Cushing's career stretched well beyond Congress. He served as U.S. commissioner to China in the 1840s, where he helped negotiate the Treaty of Wanghia, one of the first major agreements between the United States and Qing China. Later, under President Franklin Pierce, he served as U.S. attorney general, a role in which he became one of the most prominent legal officers of his time.

In his later years, Cushing remained active in diplomacy and national affairs, including service as minister to Spain. He died in 1879, leaving behind a long and varied career that connected American law, politics, and foreign relations at a formative moment in the nation's history.