Cass, Lewis (1782-1866), was the Democratic candidate for president in 1848, but he lost the election to Zachary Taylor. Cass was a leading supporter of the doctrine of popular sovereignty, which held that the people who lived in a territory should decide whether or not to permit slavery there (see Popular sovereignty ). His nomination angered many antislavery Democrats, who broke away and joined the Free Soil Party.
Cass served as a brigadier general in the War of 1812, as governor of the Territory of Michigan from 1813 to 1831, as secretary of war for President Andrew Jackson from 1831 to 1836, and as minister to France from 1836 to 1842. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate from 1845 to 1848. After resigning to run for president, he was returned to the Senate and served from 1849 to 1857. As a senator, Cass helped pass the Compromise of 1850, which applied popular sovereignty to territories in the West. From 1857 to 1860, he served as President James Buchanan’s secretary of state. A statue of Cass represents Michigan in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. Cass was born on Oct. 9, 1782, in Exeter, New Hampshire. He died on June 17, 1866.
