Broken Glass: Caleb Cushing and the Shattering of the Union (Civil War in the North)

One of the most colorful, controversial, and misunderstood public figures of the 19th century "The most hated man in New England,"as critics dubbed him on the eve of the Civil War, Caleb Cushing, brash and controversial, was perhaps the last of 19th-century America's renaissance figures. Poet and politician, essayist and diplomat, general and lawyer, this multidimensional scion of a Newburyport, Massachusetts, mercantile family moved in and out of positions of power and influence for more than fifty years. First as a spokesman for the Whig and then the Democratic Parties, Cushing served in Congress, as the minister to China, as a general in the Mexican War, as U.S. attorney general, and as a legal adviser and diplomatic operative for Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant. With an unharnessed mind and probing intellect, Cushing inspired and infuriated contemporaries with his strident views on such topics as race relations and gender roles, national expansion and the legitimacy of secession. While his positions generated arguments and garnered enemies, his views often mirrored those of many Americans. His abilities and talents sustained him in public service and made him one of the most outstanding and fascinating figures of the era. Biographer John Belohlavek delivers a work of importance and originality to specialists in the areas of mid-nineteenth-century political, legal, and diplomatic history as well as to those interested in New England history, antebellum gender relations, civil-military relations, and Mexican War studies.

""The most hated man in New England," as critics dubbed him on the eve of the Civil War, Caleb Cushing, brash and controversial, was perhaps the last of 19th-century America's renaissance figures. Poet and politician, essayist and diplomat, general and lawyer, this multidimensional scion of a Newburyport, Massachusetts, mercantile family moved in and out of positions of power and influence for more than fifty years." First as a spokesman for the Whig and then the Democratic parties, Cushing served in Congress, as the minister to China, as a general in the Mexican War, as U.S. attorney general, and as a legal advisor and diplomatic operative for Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant. With an unharnessed mind and probing intellect, Cushing inspired and infuriated contemporaries with his strident views on such topics as race relations and gender roles, national expansion, and the legitimacy of secession. While his positions generated arguments and garnered enemies, his views often mirrored those of many Americans. His abilities and talents sustained him in public service and made him one of the most outstanding and fascinating figures of the era.

Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 8 Introduction 10 1 The View from High Street, 1800–1826 16 2 Foreign Adventures and Congressional Ventures, 1827–1834 40 3 Whig Star Rising: The Politics of Antislavery, 1835–1837 72 4 Battling the British Lion and the American Fox, 1837–1840 103 5 Tyler and the Corporal’s Guard, 1841–1843 129 6 The Road to China, 1843–1844 165 7 The Warrior of Manifest Destiny, 1845–1848 196 8 The Doughface Democrat, 1848–1853 225 9 The Power Broker: Attorney General, 1853–1857 257 10 The Most Unpopular Man in New England, 1857–1861 298 11 From Massachusetts Exile to Washington Insider, 1861–1869 331 12 The Diplomat Reemerges, 1869–1879 357 Conclusions 384 Notes 399 Bibliography 474 Index 488 First as a spokesman for the Whig and then the Democratic parties, Caleb Cushing served in Congress, as the minister to China, as a general in the Mexican War, as U.S. attorney general, and as a legal adviser and diplomatic operative for Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant. With an unharnessed mind and probing intellect, Cushing inspired and infuriated contemporaries with his strident views on race relations and gender roles, national expansion, and the legitimacy of secession. His abilities and talents sustained him in public service and made him one of the most fascinating figures of the era The view from High Street (1800-1826) Foreign adventures and congressional ventures (1827-1834) Whig star rising : the politics of antislavery (1835-1838) Battling the British Lion and the American Fox (1837-1840) Tyler and the Corporal's Guard (1841-1843) The road to China (1843-1844) The agent of Manifest Destiny (1845-1848) The doughface Democrat (1848-1853) The powerbroker : attorney general (1853-1857) The most unpopular man in New England (1857-1861) From Massachusetts exile to Washington insider (1861-1869) The diplomat reemerges (1869-1879) Caleb Cushing, was a poet and politician, essayist and diplomat, general and lawyer. This work is his biography. It delivers a work to specialists in the areas of mid-nineteenth-century political, legal, and diplomatic history, and to those interested in New England history, antebellum gender relations, civil-military relations, and Mexican War.