Twice a presidential nominee, Lewis Cass served as secretary of war, minister to France, and secretary of state. Born on October 2, 1782, in New Hampshire, Cass was the son of a Revolutionary War veteran, Major Jonathan Cass, and Mary Gilman Cass. He studied at Phillips Exeter Academy. In 1800, the family moved to the Ohio frontier, where Cass studied law and began a practice in 1803. In 1806, he married Elizabeth Spencer and was elected to the legislature in Ohio.

During the War of 1812 (1812-15), Cass advanced from colonel of militia to brigadier general and fought with distinction at the Battle of the Thames in presentday Ontario. In 1813, he was appointed governor of the Michigan Territory. He made a fortune by buying land in Detroit and later selling it in city lots. Promoting universal education, the establishment of libraries, road-building, and surveying tracts for settlers, Cass speeded up the American...