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{{Short description|United States Army officer and politician (1782–1866)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Lewis Cass
|image        = Lewis Cass circa 1855.jpg
|caption      = Cass in 1855
|office       = 22nd [[United States Secretary of State]]
|president    = [[James Buchanan]]
|term_start   = March 6, 1857
|term_end     = December 14, 1860
|predecessor  = [[William L. Marcy|William Marcy]]
|successor    = [[Jeremiah S. Black]]
|office1      = [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate]]
|term_start1  = December 4, 1854
|term_end1    = December 5, 1854
|predecessor1 = [[David Rice Atchison]]
|successor1   = [[Jesse D. Bright|Jesse Bright]]
|jr/sr2       = United States Senator
|state2       = [[Michigan]]
|term_start2  = March 4, 1849
|term_end2    = March 3, 1857
|predecessor2 = [[Thomas Fitzgerald (American politician)|Thomas Fitzgerald]]
|successor2   = [[Zachariah Chandler]]
|term_start3  = March 4, 1845
|term_end3    = May 29, 1848
|predecessor3 = [[Augustus S. Porter|Augustus Porter]]
|successor3   = Thomas Fitzgerald
|office4      = 15th [[United States Ambassador to France|United States Minister to France]]
|president4   = [[Andrew Jackson]] <br />[[Martin Van Buren]] <br />[[William Henry Harrison]] <br />[[John Tyler]]
|term_start4  = December 1, 1836
|term_end4    = November 12, 1842
|predecessor4 = [[Edward Livingston]]
|successor4   = [[William R. King|William King]]
|office5      = 14th [[United States Secretary of War]]
|president5   = [[Andrew Jackson]]
|term_start5  = August 1, 1831
|term_end5    = October 4, 1836
|predecessor5 = [[Roger B. Taney]] {{small|(Acting)}}
|successor5   = [[Joel Roberts Poinsett]]
|office6      = 2nd [[Governor of Michigan|Governor]] of the [[Michigan Territory]]
|appointer6   = [[James Madison]]
|term_start6  = October 13, 1813
|term_end6    = August 1, 1831
|predecessor6 = [[William Hull]]
|successor6   = [[George Bryan Porter|George Porter]]
|office7      = Member of the [[Ohio House of Representatives]]
|alongside7   = [[William H. Puthuff]] and [[Levi Barber]]
|constituency7= [[Washington County, Ohio|Washington]], [[Gallia County, Ohio|Gallia]], [[Muskingum County, Ohio|Muskingum]], and [[Athens County, Ohio|Athens]] counties
|predecessor7 = ''various''
|successor7   = ''various''
|term_start7  = December 1, 1806
|term_end7    = December 6, 1807
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1782|10|9}}
|birth_place  = [[Exeter, New Hampshire]], U.S.
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1866|6|17|1782|10|9}}
|death_place  = [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]], U.S.
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse       = {{marriage|Eliza Spencer<br />|May 26, 1806|1853|reason=died}}
|children     = 7
|signature    = Lewis Cass Signature2.svg
|allegiance   = {{flag|United States|1795}}
|branch       = {{army|United States}}
|serviceyears = 1812–1814
|rank         = [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]]
|unit         = [[27th Infantry Regiment (United States)|27th U.S. Infantry]]
|battles      = 
'''[[War of 1812]]'''
*[[Siege of Detroit|Detroit Campaign]]
**[[Battle of River Canard]]
*[[Battle of the Thames]]
}}
'''Lewis Cass''' (October 9, 1782{{spaced ndash}}June 17, 1866) was a [[United States Army]] officer and politician. He represented [[Michigan]] in the [[United States Senate]] and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, [[Andrew Jackson]] and [[James Buchanan]]. He was also the [[1848 United States presidential election|1848]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] presidential nominee. A slave owner himself,<ref name="Congress slaveowners">{{Citation|title=Congress slaveowners|date=2022-01-13|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/interactive/2022/congress-slaveowners-names-list/|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2022-07-04}}</ref> he was a leading spokesman for the doctrine of [[Popular sovereignty in the United States#Emergence of the term "popular sovereignty" and its pejorative connotation|popular sovereignty]], which at the time held the idea that people in each [[U.S. state|U.S state]] should have the right to decide whether to permit [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] as a matter of [[states' rights]].

Born in [[Exeter, New Hampshire]], he attended [[Phillips Exeter Academy]] before establishing a legal practice in [[Zanesville, Ohio]]. After serving in the [[Ohio House of Representatives]], he was appointed as a [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshal]]. Cass also joined the [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]] and eventually co-founded the [[Grand Lodge of Michigan]]. He fought at the [[Battle of the Thames]] in the [[War of 1812]] and was appointed to govern [[Michigan Territory]] in 1813. He negotiated treaties with [[Tribe (Native American)|American tribes]] to open land for American settlement as part of a belief in "[[manifest destiny]]" and led a [[Lewis Cass expedition|survey expedition]] into the northwest part of the territory.

Cass resigned as governor in 1831 to accept appointment as [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] under Andrew Jackson. As Secretary, he helped implement Jackson's policy of [[Indian removal]]. After serving as ambassador to [[France]] from 1836 to 1842, he unsuccessfully sought the presidential nomination at the [[1844 Democratic National Convention]]; a deadlock between supporters of Cass and former President [[Martin Van Buren]] ended with the nomination of [[James K. Polk]]. In 1845, the [[Michigan Legislature]] elected Cass to the Senate, where he served until 1848. Cass's nomination for president at the [[1848 Democratic National Convention]] precipitated a split in the party, as Cass's advocacy for popular sovereignty alienated the anti-slavery wing of the party. Van Buren led the [[Free Soil Party]]'s presidential ticket and appealed to many anti-slavery Democrats, contributing to the victory of [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] nominee [[Zachary Taylor]].

Cass returned to the Senate in 1849 and continued to serve until 1857 when he accepted appointment as [[United States Secretary of State]]. He unsuccessfully sought to buy land from [[Mexico]] and sympathized with pro-slavery American [[Filibuster (military)|filibusters]] in [[Latin America]]. Cass resigned in December 1860 to protest Buchanan's handling of the threatened secession of several Southern states. Since his death in 1866, he has been commemorated in various ways, including a statue in the [[National Statuary Hall]].

==Early life==
Cass was born in [[Exeter, New Hampshire]] on October 9, 1782, near the end of the [[American Revolution]]. His parents were Molly ([[née]] Gilman) Cass and Major Jonathan Cass, a Revolutionary War veteran who fought at the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]].<ref name="history.state"/>

Cass was educated in Exeter and attended [[Phillips Exeter Academy]]. In 1800, the family moved to [[Marietta, Ohio]], part of a wave of westward migration after the defeat of Native Americans led to the end of the [[Northwest Indian War]]. Cass [[reading law|studied law]] with [[Return J. Meigs Jr.]], was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar]], and began a practice in [[Zanesville, Ohio|Zanesville]].

==Beginning of Cass's career==
In 1806, Cass was elected to the [[Ohio House of Representatives]]. The following year, President [[Thomas Jefferson]] appointed him [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Marshal]] for Ohio.<ref name="sd">{{cite web|title=Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Lewis Cass (1782–1866)|url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/cass-lewis|website=Office of the Historian|publisher=U.S. State Department|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref>

He joined the [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]], and was initiated as an Entered Apprentice in what was later American Union Lodge No.1 at Marietta on December 5, 1803.<ref name=lodgeohio>{{cite web |publisher=[[Grand Lodge of Ohio]] |title=Past Grand Masters - 1810 Lewis Cass |url=http://www.freemason.com/glo/past-grand-masters/83-1810-lewis-cass |access-date=2012-12-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160921140357/http://www.freemason.com/glo/past-grand-masters/83-1810-lewis-cass |archive-date=2016-09-21 }}</ref> He achieved his Fellow Craft degree on April 2, 1804, and his Master Mason degree on May 7, 1804. On June 24, 1805, he was admitted as Charter member of the Lodge of Amity 105 (later No.5) in Zanesville. He served as the first Worshipful Master of the Lodge of Amity in 1806.<ref name=lodgeohio/> Cass was one of the founders of the [[Grand Lodge of Ohio]], representing the Lodge of Amity at the first meeting on January 4, 1808. He was elected Deputy Grand Master on January 5, 1809, and [[Grand Master (Freemasonry)|Grand Master]] on January 3, 1810, January 8, 1811, and January 8, 1812.<ref name=lodgeohio/>

==War of 1812==
===Engagement at bridge near Fort Malden===

After the [[War of 1812]] broke out, Cass took command of the 3rd Ohio Volunteer Regiment. During the war, Cass conducted several military operations around the [[Canada–United States border]]. On July 16, 1812, a British force consisting of the [[41st (Welch) Regiment of Foot|41st Regiment of Foot]], 60 men of the [[Canadian Militia]] and a number of Indians were posted near [[Fort Malden]]. Cass and Colonel [[James Miller (general)|James Miller]] led a concealed American reconnaissance force near them. The British detected the Americans, and sent a party of Indians over a nearby bridge to draw them out; however, once the Indians crossed, the concealed Americans opened fire, wounding two and killing one. Cass and Miller send word to General [[William Hull]], requesting permission to attack Fort Malden and hold it until reinforcements arrived. However, Hull was unsupportive and refused their request, which led Cass and Miller to withdraw back to American lines.<ref>"The War of 1812: A Complete Chronology with Biographies of 63 General Officers" by Bud Hannings Page.38.</ref>

===Second engagement at bridge near Fort Malden===

On July 19, 1812, Colonel [[Duncan McArthur]] led a reconnaissance force combined with 150 Ohio infantry troops under Cass were near the bridge leading to Fort Malden. Two British guns fired on the Americans and disabled an American cannon. The Americans captured two British soldiers after they crossed the bridge, before safely withdrawing with their prisoners.<ref>"The War of 1812: A Complete Chronology with Biographies of 63 General Officers" by Bud Hannings Page.39.</ref>

===Hit-and-run attack on bridge at the Riviere aux Canards===
On July 28, 1812, Colonel Cass conducted a hit-and-run attack at the Rivière aux Canards driving back a band of Native Americans. The Americans killed one Native American and [[Scalping|scalped]] him. Cass and his fellow Americans then withdrew safely.<ref>"The War of 1812: A Complete Chronology with Biographies of 63 General Officers" by Bud Hannings Page.42.</ref>

===Battle of the Thames===
Cass became colonel of the 27th United States Infantry Regiment on February 20, 1813. Soon after, he was promoted to brigadier general in the [[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]] on March 12, 1813. Cass took part in the [[Battle of the Thames]], which saw the death of [[Tecumseh]]. Cass resigned from the Army on May 1, 1814.

==Territorial Governor of Michigan==
As a reward for his military service, Cass was appointed Governor of [[Michigan Territory]] by President [[James Madison]] on October 29, 1813, and he served until 1831. As he was frequently traveling on business, several territorial secretaries often acted as governor in his place. During this period, he helped negotiate and implement treaties with Native American tribes in Michigan, by which they ceded substantial amounts of land. Some were given small reservations in the territory.

In 1817, Cass was one of two commissioners (along with [[Duncan McArthur]]), who negotiated the [[Treaty of Fort Meigs]], which was signed on September 29 with several [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes of the region, under which they ceded large amounts of territory to the United States.<ref name=heidler/> This helped open up areas of Michigan to settlement by Euro-Americans. That same year, Cass was named to serve as Secretary of War under President [[James Monroe]], but he declined.

In 1820, Cass led an [[Lewis Cass expedition|expedition]] to the northwestern part of Michigan Territory, in the [[Great Lakes]] region in today's northern [[Minnesota]]. Its purpose was to map the region and locate the source of the [[Mississippi River]]. The headwater was then unknown, resulting in an undefined border between the United States and [[British North America]], which had been linked to the river. The Cass expedition erroneously identified what became known as [[Cass Lake (Minnesota)|Cass Lake]] as the Mississippi's source. It was not until 1832 that [[Henry Rowe Schoolcraft]], the Cass expedition's geologist, identified nearby [[Lake Itasca]] as the true headwater of the Mississippi.

Though the [[Northwest Ordinance]] of 1787 prohibited slavery in the [[Northwest Territory]], which included what later became Michigan Territory, a small number of slaves continued to reside in Michigan until it achieved statehood.<ref name="Michiganology">{{cite web |url=https://michiganology.org/stories/anti-slavery-movement-in-michigan/ |title=Anti-Slavery Movement in Michigan |date=2023 |website=Michiganology.org |publisher=Michigan History Center |location=Lansing, MI |access-date=August 24, 2023}}</ref> Despite his later claims to the contrary, as territorial governor, Cass is known to have owned at least one slave, a household servant, as evidenced by 1818 correspondence between him and [[Alexander Macomb (general)|Alexander Macomb]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Klunder |first=Willard Carl |date=1996 |title=Lewis Cass and the Politics of Moderation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XlQHi_dJyRUC&pg=PA47 |location=Kent, OH |publisher=Kent State University Press |pages=46–47 |isbn=978-0-8733-8536-7 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Slavery continued in Michigan until admission to the Union in 1837, when its first [[Constitution of Michigan#1835 Constitution|state constitution]] outlawed slavery statewide.<ref name="Michiganology"/>

==Secretary of War and expediter of Indian removal==
In 1830, Cass published an article in the ''North American Review'' that passionately argued that [[Native Americans in the United States|Indians]] were "inherently inferior" to whites, and incapable of being civilized and thus should be removed from the eastern United States.<ref>Lewis Cass. [http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/triumphnationalism/expansion/text4/cassremoval.pdf Removal of the Indians]</ref> This article caught the attention and approval of Andrew Jackson. On August 1, 1831, Cass resigned as governor of the Michigan Territory to take the post of [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] under President [[Andrew Jackson]], a position he held until 1836. Cass was a central figure in implementing the [[Indian removal]] policy of the Jackson administration; Congress had passed the [[Indian Removal Act]] in 1830. While it was directed chiefly against the Southeastern tribes, especially the Five Civilized Tribes, it also affected tribes in Ohio, Illinois, and other areas east of the Mississippi River. Most were forced to [[Indian Territory]] in present-day [[Kansas]] and [[Oklahoma]], but a number of bands negotiated being allowed to remain in Michigan.<ref name="history.state">{{cite web |title=Lewis Cass - People - Department History |url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/cass-lewis |website=history.state.gov |publisher=[[United States Department of State|Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs United States Department of State]] |access-date=23 June 2019}}</ref>

==U.S. Minister to France==
At the end of his term, President Jackson appointed Cass to succeed [[Edward Livingston]] as the [[U.S. Ambassador to France|U.S. Minister to France]] on October 4, 1836. He presented his credentials on December 1, 1836, and served until he left his post on November 12, 1842, when he was succeeded by [[William R. King]], who later became the 13th [[Vice President of the United States]] under President [[Franklin Pierce]].

==Presidential ambitions and U.S. Senate==
[[File:Cass & Butler 1848 Jugate Ribbon.png|thumb|right|upright=0.6|Cass & Butler 1848 Jugate Ribbon]]
In the [[1844 United States presidential election#Democratic Party nomination|1844 Democratic convention]], Cass stood as a candidate for the presidential nomination, losing on the 9th ballot to [[dark horse]] candidate [[James K. Polk]].

Cass was elected by the state legislature to represent [[Michigan]] in the [[United States Senate]], serving in 1845–1848. He served as chairman of the [[United States House Committee on Military Affairs|Committee on Military Affairs]] in the [[30th United States Congress|30th Congress]].

In 1848, he resigned from the Senate to run for president in the [[1848 U.S. presidential election|1848 election]]. [[William Orlando Butler]] was selected as his running mate.<ref>Kleber, John E. (ed.) (1992). ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'', p. 146. University Press of Kentucky. {{ISBN|0-8131-1772-0}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8131-1772-0}}.</ref> Cass was a leading supporter of the doctrine of [[popular sovereignty]], which held that the (white male) American citizens who lived in a territory should decide whether to permit [[slavery]] there.<ref>Klunder (1996), pp. 266–67</ref> His nomination caused a split in the Democratic Party, leading many antislavery Northern Democrats to join the [[United States Free Soil Party|Free Soil Party]], which nominated former President [[Martin Van Buren]].

After losing the election to [[Zachary Taylor]], Cass was returned by the state legislature to the Senate, serving from 1849 to 1857. He was the first non-incumbent [[List of United States Democratic Party presidential tickets|Democratic presidential candidate]] to lose an election and the first Democrat who was unsuccessful in his bid to succeed another Democrat as president. 
Apart from James Buchanan's election to succeed Franklin Pierce in 1856, subsequent Democrats who attempted election to succeed a fellow Democrat as president all failed in their bid to do so. 
Cass made another bid for president in [[United States presidential election, 1852|1852]] but neither he nor rival Democratic contenders Buchanan and [[Stephen Douglas]] secured a majority of delegates’ votes at the Democratic Convention in [[Baltimore]], and the party went with [[Franklin Pierce]] instead.

==U.S. Secretary of State==
[[File:Hon. Lewis A. Cass, Mich - NARA - 528273.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph of Secretary Cass, by [[Mathew Brady]], {{circa|1860–65}}]]
On March 6, 1857, President [[James Buchanan]] appointed Cass to serve as [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]]. Although retaining incumbent Secretary of State [[William L. Marcy]] was considered the best option by many, Buchanan made it clear that he did not want to keep anyone from the Pierce Administration. Moreover, Marcy had opposed his earlier presidential bids, and was in poor health in any event, and he died in July 1857. Cass, aged 75, was seen by most as too old for such a demanding position and was thought to likely be little more than a figurehead. Buchanan decided Cass was the best choice to avoid political infighting and sectional tensions and wrote wrote a flattering letter offering Cass the post. Cass, who was retiring from the Senate, was not eager to leave Washington, immediately accepted.

As Secretary, Cass promised to refrain from making anti-British remarks in public (having served in the War of 1812, Cass had a low opinion of London). Most assumed Cass was a temporary Secretary of State until a younger, more fit man could be found, however, he ultimately served for all but the final four months of Buchanan's administration. As expected, the aged Cass largely delegated major decision-making to subordinates, but eagerly signed his name on papers and dispatches penned by them.<ref name=heidler/> 
[[File:Lewis Cass, 14th United States Secretary of War.jpg|thumb|right|Posthumous portrait of Cass, by [[Daniel Huntington (artist)|Daniel Huntington]], {{circa|1873}}]]
Because he was sympathetic to pro-slavery American [[Filibuster (military)|filibusters]] in Central America, Cass was instrumental in having Commodore [[Hiram Paulding]] removed from command after he landed Marines in [[Nicaragua]] and compelled the extradition of [[William Walker (filibuster)|William Walker]] to the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fas.org/man/crs/crs_931007.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617124004/https://fas.org/man/crs/crs_931007.htm|url-status=dead|title=Collier, Ellen C. (1993) "Instances of Use of United States Forces Abroad, 1798 - 1993" ''CRS Issue Brief'' Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Washington DC|archivedate=17 June 2015|accessdate=9 March 2023}}</ref> Cass attempted to buy more land from [[Mexico]], but faced opposition from both Mexico and congressional leaders. He also negotiated a final settlement to the [[Clayton–Bulwer Treaty]], limiting U.S. and British control of Latin American countries.<ref name="sd"/> The chiefs of [[Raiatea]] and [[Tahaa]] in the South Pacific, refusing to accept the rule of King [[Tamatoa V]], unsuccessfully petitioned the United States to accept the islands under a [[protectorate]] in June 1858.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Flude|first=Anthony G.|title=Manuscript XXIII: A Raiatean Petition for American Protection|journal=The Journal of Pacific History|volume=47|issue=1|date=March 2012|publisher=Australian National University|location=Canberra|doi=10.1080/00223344.2011.632982|oclc=785915823|pages=111–121|s2cid=159847026}}</ref>

Cass resigned on December 14, 1860, because of what he considered Buchanan's failure to protect federal interests in the South and failure to mobilize the federal military, actions that might have averted the threatened secession of Southern states.<ref>Cass’s resignation statement, quoted in McLaughlin, Andrew Cunningham (1899) ''Lewis Cass'' Houghton, Mifflin, Boston, pp. 345–346, [http://worldcat.org/oclc/4377268 OCLC 4377268], (standard library edition, first edition was published in 1891)</ref>

==Personal life==
On May 26, 1806, Cass married Elizabeth Spencer (1786–1853), the daughter of Dr. Joseph Spencer Jr. and Deborah (née Seldon) Spencer.<ref name=heidler>Heidler, David S., and Heidler, Jeanne T. (eds) (2004). ''Encyclopedia of the War of 1812'', pp. 83-84. Naval Institute Press. {{ISBN|1-59114-362-4}}.</ref> Her paternal grandfather was [[Joseph Spencer]], a [[Continental Congress]]man who was a [[major general]] in the [[Continental Army]].<ref name="Whittelsey">{{cite web|last1=Whittelsey|first1=Charles Barney|title=Historical Sketch of Joseph Spencer - Sons of the American Revolution, Connecticut|url=http://www.connecticutsar.org/patriots/spencer.htm|website=www.connecticutsar.org|publisher=Historian Society of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of Connecticut|access-date=22 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308184859/http://www.connecticutsar.org/patriots/spencer.htm|archive-date=8 March 2018|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Lewis and Elizabeth were the parents of seven children, five of whom lived past infancy:<ref>{{cite book |last=Burton |first=Clarence Monroe|display-authors=etal|date=1922 |title=The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701–1922 |volume=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5pgnAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1367 |location=Detroit, MI |publisher=S. J. Publishing Company |page=1367 |ref={{sfnRef|''The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922''}}}}</ref>

* Isabella Cass (1805–1879), who married [[Theodorus Marinus Roest van Limburg]], a Dutch journalist, diplomat, and politician.{{sfn|''The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922''|page=1367}}
* Elizabeth Selden Cass (1812–1832){{sfn|''The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922''|page=1367}}
* [[Lewis Cass Jr.]] (1814–1878), who served as an army officer and as U.S. Chargé d'Affaires and Minister to the Papal States.{{sfn|''The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922''|page=1367}}
* Mary Sophia Cass (1812–1882), who married Army officer Augustus Canfield, an officer of the [[Corps of Topographical Engineers]].{{sfn|''The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922''|page=1367}}
* Matilda Frances Cass (1818–1898), who married [[Henry Ledyard]], the [[mayor of Detroit]].{{sfn|''The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922''|page=1367}}
* Ellen Cass (1821–1824), who died young.{{sfn|''The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922''|page=1367}}
* Spencer Cass (1828-1828), who died in infancy.{{sfn|''The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922''|page=1367}}

Cass died on June 17, 1866, in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. He is buried in [[Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit)|Elmwood Cemetery]] in Detroit.

===Descendants===
Through his daughter Mary, he was the great-grandfather of [[Cass Canfield]] (longtime president and chairman of [[Harper & Brothers]], later [[Harper & Row]]).<ref>{{cite news |title=Cass Canfield, a Titan of Publishing, Is Dead at 88 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/28/obituaries/cass-canfield-a-titan-of-publishing-is-dead-at-88.html |access-date=30 July 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=28 March 1986}}</ref>

Through his daughter Matilda, he was the grandfather of Elizabeth Cass Ledyard (wife of Francis Wayland Goddard);<ref name="ColonialDames1897">{{cite book|last1=Island|first1=National Society of the Colonial Dames of America Rhode|title=First record book of the Society of Colonial Dames in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: Ending August 31, 1896|date=1897|publisher=Snow & Farnham, printers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VzMRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA172|access-date=26 April 2017|language=en}}</ref> [[Henry Brockholst Ledyard Jr.]] (who was president of the [[Michigan Central Railroad]]);<ref name = "city">{{citation|title = The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922; Volume 4 |author1 = Clarence Monroe Burton| author2 = William Stocking| author3 = Gordon K. Miller |publisher = The S. J. Clarke publishing company| year =  1922 | pages = 5–6| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=2TTiAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA5}}</ref><ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13887397/ledyard_given_quiet_funeral_re_henry/ "Ledyard Given Quiet Funeral,"] ''Detroit Free Press,'' May 28, 1921, pg. 11.</ref> Susan Livingston Ledyard (wife of Hamilton Bullock Tompkins);<ref name="Tompkins1877">{{cite book|last1=Tompkins|first1=Hamilton Bullock|title=Biographical Record of the Class of 1865, of Hamilton College|date=1877|publisher=[[Hamilton College (New York)|Hamilton College]]|url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalrec00tompgoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/biographicalrec00tompgoog/page/n78 73]|access-date=26 April 2017|language=en}}</ref> [[Lewis Cass Ledyard]] (a prominent lawyer with [[Carter Ledyard & Milburn]] who was the personal counsel of [[J. Pierpont Morgan]]);<ref name = "psi">{{citation|title = The diamond of Psi Upsilon|  volume = 18| issue = 3 |author = Psi Upsilon | publisher = Psi Upsilon Fraternity| year =  1932 | pages = 170–171| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=x51MAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA170}}</ref><ref name="Marquis1911">{{cite book|last1=Marquis|first1=Albert Nelson|title=Who's Who in America {{!}} A Biographical Directory of Notable Living Men and Women of The United States {{!}} Vol VI 1910-1911|date=1911|publisher=A. N. Marquis & Co.|location=London|page=1134|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wq5DAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1134|access-date=26 April 2017|language=en}}</ref> and Matilda Spancer Ledyard.<ref name="LedyardPapers">{{cite web|last1=Ledyard|first1=Henry|title=Guide to the Henry Ledyard collection 1726-1899 and undated (bulk 1840-1859)|url=https://library.brown.edu/riamco/xml2pdffiles/US-RNR-ms565.pdf|website=library.brown.edu|publisher=[[Redwood Library and Athenaeum]]|access-date=26 April 2017}}</ref>

Cass's great-great-grandson, Republican [[Cass Ballenger|Thomas Cass Ballenger]], represented [[North Carolina]]'s 10th Congressional District from 1986 to 2005.<ref>{{cite book |last=United States Congress |date=2005 |title=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v9MBIctdjjkC&pg=PA604 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=604 |isbn=978-0-16-073176-1}}</ref>

==Monuments and Commemoration==
<!--Do not include places named after Cass which are properly in the [[List of places named for Lewis Cass]]. This section should focus on tangible commemorations of Cass. -->
{{See also|List of places named for Lewis Cass}}
[[Image:Lewis Cass Legacy Society.png|thumb|right|140px|Lewis Cass Legacy Society logo]]
* A [[statue of Lewis Cass]] is one of the two that were submitted by Michigan to the [[National Statuary Hall]] collection in the [[U.S. Capitol]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] It stands in the National Statuary Hall room.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lewis Cass statue, Statuary Hall, the Capitol at Washington |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/2016803827/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref>
* The [[Liberty ship]] [[List of Liberty ships: L|SS ''Lewis Cass'']]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michigan Military and Vetarans Hall of Honor {{!}} Lewis Cass |url=https://www.mimilitaryvethallofhonor.org/2021/cass.html |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.mimilitaryvethallofhonor.org}}</ref>
* He is the eponym of the village of [[Casstown, Ohio]],<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of Miami County, Ohio: Containing a History of the County; Its Cities, Towns, Etc.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fNcyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA396|year=1880|publisher=Windmill Publications|page=396}}</ref> the community of [[Cassville, West Virginia]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Kenny|first=Hamill|title=West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains|url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015009099824;view=1up;seq=187|year=1945|publisher=The Place Name Press|location=Piedmont, WV|page=159}}</ref> [[Cassopolis, Michigan]], and [[Cass County, Michigan]], as well as [[Cass City, Michigan]], and the [[Cass River (Michigan)|Cass River]] that runs around the surrounding area.
* Cass Avenue in Detroit.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mapquest.com/us/mi/detroit/48226/grand-river-ave-and-cass-ave-42.334536,-83.054404 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=www.mapquest.com |title=Detroit, Michigan - MapQuest }}</ref> Cass Avenue in Mt. Clemens.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cass Ave · Mt Clemens, MI |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cass+Ave,+Mt+Clemens,+MI,+USA/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x882520806746387f:0x2deec8273dd7f158?entry=s&sa=X&ved=1t:78214&hl=en-ae&ictx=111 |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=Cass Ave · Mt Clemens, MI |language=en}}</ref>
* The Lewis Cass Legacy Society, which supports The Michigan Masonic Charitable Foundation, was named for his support of Michigan Freemasonry.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-27 |title=Michigan Masonic Legacy Society Gala - Michigan Masons |url=https://michiganmasons.org/news-events/michigan-masonic-legacy-society-gala/,%20https://michiganmasons.org/news-events/michigan-masonic-legacy-society-gala/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=michiganmasons.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Bartow County, Georgia]], was originally named Cass County after Lewis Cass, but was changed in 1861 after Francis Bartow died as a Confederate war hero and due to Cass's alleged opposition to slavery, even though he was an advocate of states' rights via the doctrine of [[popular sovereignty]]. Cassville, Georgia is an unincorporated community in the same county, was originally the county seat before the name was changed from Cass County. The seat was moved to Cartersville, Georgia after General Sherman destroyed Cassville in his Atlanta Campaign of 1864.
* [[Cass Technical High School]] in [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]], [[Cass High School (Georgia)|Cass High School]] in [[Bartow County, Georgia]], [[Cass High School (Indiana)|Lewis Cass High School]] in [[Walton, Indiana]], and Lewis Cass Elementary in [[Livonia, Michigan]], were named in honor of Lewis Cass.

{{clear|left}}
* The Lewis Cass Building, a principal state office building in the [[Lansing]], Michigan capitol government complex. It was renamed on June 30, 2020, to the [[Elliott-Larsen Building]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haddad |first=Ken |date=2020-06-30 |title=Michigan governor: Lansing's Lewis Cass Building renamed to 'Elliott-Larsen Building' |url=https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/michigan/2020/06/30/michigan-governor-lansings-lewis-cass-building-renamed-to-elliott-larsen-building/ |access-date=2024-04-10 |website=WDIV |language=en}}</ref>
* Lewis Cass is the namesake of counties in the following states: [[Cass County, Indiana|Indiana]], [[Cass County, Iowa|Iowa]], [[Cass County, Minnesota|Minnesota]], [[Cass County, Missouri|Missouri]], [[Cass County, Nebraska|Nebraska]], [[Cass County, Illinois|Illinois]], [[Cass County, Michigan|Michigan]], and [[Cass County, Texas|Texas]]. However, [[Cass County, North Dakota]], was named for his nephew.
* Lewis Cass is the namesake of Cass Street in [[Green Bay, Wisconsin]].
* Cass Street in [[Monroe, Michigan]], was named in honor of Lewis Cass. (However, Cass Street in [[Traverse City, Michigan]], and in [[Cadillac, Michigan]], were named for his nephew, [[George Washington Cass]].)

==Other honors and memberships==

* Elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in 1820.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistc|title=MemberListC &#124; American Antiquarian Society|website=www.americanantiquarian.org|accessdate=9 March 2023}}</ref>
* Elected a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 1826.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1826&year-max=1826&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-04-06|website=search.amphilsoc.org|archive-date=2022-11-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105024212/https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1826&year-max=1826&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Publications==
* Lewis Cass. ''Inquiries: Respecting the History, Traditions, Language, Manners, Customs, Religion, &tc. of the Indians, Living within the United States.'' Detroit: Putnam Sheldon & Reed, 1823.
*Lewis Cass review of "Manners and Customs of several Indian Tribes, located west of the Mississippi by John D. Hunter [and] Historical Notes respecting the Indians of North America, by John Halkett, Esq., ''North American Review'' 22 (January 1826) pp. 53-119.
*Lewis Cass review of  "Indian Treaties, and Laws and Regulations relating to Indian Affairs ... Compiled and published under Orders of the Department of War,"'' North American Review'' 24 (April 1827), pp. 365-442.
*Lewis Cass review of "Travels in the Central Portions of the Mississippi Valley, by Henry R. Schoolcraft," ''North American Review'' 26 (April 1828,) pp. 357-403.
*Lewis Cass, "A Discourse Delivered at the First Meeting of the Historical Society of Michigan. September 18, 1829. Published at their Request. Detroit: Geo. L. Whitney, 1830. Reprinted as "Discourse" In ''Historical and scientific sketches of Michigan, comprising a series of discourses delivered before the Historical Society of Michigan, and Other Interesting Papers Relative to the Territory.'' (Detroit: Stephen Wells and George L. Whitney, 1834, pp. 5-50, including 4 pages of footnotes seemingly added for the 1834 reprinting.
*Lewis Cass review of  "Documents and Proceedings relating to the Formation ... of a Board in the City of New York, for ... Improvement of the Aborigines of America," ''North America Review'' 30 (January 1830), pp. 62-121.

* {{cite book|title=France, its King, Court and Government |first=Lewis |last=Cass |year=1840 |location=New York |publisher=Wiley and  |url=https://archive.org/details/franceitskingco00conggoog}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Politics}}
* [[Origins of the American Civil War]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
{{EB1911 poster|Cass, Lewis}}
{{CongBio|C000233}}
* Klunder, Willard Carl. ”Lewis Cass, Stephen Douglas, and Popular Sovereignty: The Demise of Democratic Party Unity,”  in ''Politics and Culture of the Civil War Era'' ed by Daniel J. McDonough and Kenneth W. Noe, (2006) pp.&nbsp;129–53
* {{cite journal |last1=Klunder |first1=Willard Carl |title=The Seeds of Popular Sovereignty: Governor Lewis Cass and Michigan Territory |journal=Michigan Historical Review |date=1991 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=64–81 |jstor=20173254|doi=10.2307/20173254 }}
* [[Joel H. Silbey|Silbey, Joel H.]] ''Party Over Section: The Rough and Ready Presidential Election of 1848'' (2009), 205 pp.
* {{cite book| chapter-url = http://www.history.army.mil/books/sw-sa/Cass.htm| title = Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army| first = William Gardner| last = Bell| year = 1992| publisher = [[United States Army Center of Military History]]| url = http://www.history.army.mil/books/Sw-SA/SWSA-Fm.htm| id = CMH pub 70-12| chapter = Lewis Cass| access-date = 2010-06-15| archive-date = 2007-12-14| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071214152450/http://www.history.army.mil/books/Sw-SA/SWSA-Fm.htm| url-status = dead}}
* [http://www.elmwoodhistoriccemetery.org/pages/cass.html Elmwood Cemetery Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105195534/http://elmwoodhistoriccemetery.org/pages/cass.html |date=2009-01-05 }}
* Cleland, Charles E. ”Rites of Conquest: The History and Culture of Michigan's Native Americans”. University of Michigan Press (1992).

==External links==
* [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/clementsmss/umich-wcl-M-372cas Lewis Cass papers], William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan.
* {{Find a Grave|2256}}

==Further reading==
* Wagenaar, Larry J. (January/February 2022). "The Complicated Legacy of Lewis Cass." ''Michigan History''. p. 3. Lansing, Michigan: [[Historical Society of Michigan]]. ISSN 0026-2196. Retrieved [https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A688536775/SPJ.SP01?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-SPJ.SP01&xid=9fdacc7f via Gale OneFile] 
 
* Kilar, Jeremy W. (January/February 2022). "Lewis Cass: A Complicated History." ''Michigan History''. pp. 18+. Lansing, Michigan: [[Historical Society of Michigan]]. ISSN 0026-2196. Retrieved [https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A688536791/SPJ.SP01?u=lom_accessmich&sid=bookmark-SPJ.SP01&xid=74c6f592 via Gale OneFile]  

* Shelby Jouppi (June 27, 2017). "[https://wdet.org/2017/06/27/curiosid-lewis-cass-michigan-governor-architect-of-indian-removal CuriosiD: Lewis Cass, Michigan Governor, Architect of Indian Removal]". WDET. 

* Tobin, James (February 23, 2024). "[https://michigantoday.umich.edu/2024/02/23/governor-cass-and-the-indians/ Governor Cass and the Indians]". ''Michigan Today''. 

* Kiel, Doug. "[https://www.nps.gov/articles/american-expansion-turns-to-indian-removal.htm American Expansion Turns to Official Indian Removal]". National Park Service. 

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