Calvin C. Chaffee

Calvin C. Chaffee (1859)

Calvin Clifford Chaffee (born August 28, 1811 in Saratoga Springs , Saratoga County , New York , †  August 8, 1896 in Springfield , Massachusetts ) was an American politician . Between 1855 and 1859 he represented the state of Massachusetts in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Calvin Chaffee attended public schools in his home country. After a subsequent medical degree at Middlebury College in Vermont and his license as a doctor in 1835, he began to work in Springfield in this profession. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the American Party . In the congressional elections of 1854 , Chaffee was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the tenth constituency of Massachusetts , where he succeeded Edward Dickinson on March 4, 1855 . After a re-election, he was able to complete two legislative terms in Congress until March 3, 1859 . These were shaped by the events leading up to the civil war . In his second legislative term, which began on March 4, 1857, Chaffee represented the Republican Party , of which he had since become a member.

Chaffee was considered a staunch opponent of slavery . From 1850 he was married to Irene Emerson, the widow of the former owner of the slave Dred Scott , who was soon to go down in history through a controversial judgment by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney . Chaffee was now involved in this case through his marriage. After all, his wife was still the official “owner” of the controversial slave in 1857. As a result, Chaffee itself became associated with slavery. He initiated the return of Scott to the previous owners for the purpose of emancipation. Even so, his political reputation was damaged. For this reason, he renounced another congressional candidacy in 1858.

Between 1860 and 1862 Calvin Chaffee was employed as an archivist ( librarian ) in the Congress administration. He then practiced as a doctor in the federal capital Washington until 1876. He then returned to Springfield. From 1880 to 1893 he was president of the Union Relief Association . Calvin Chaffee died on August 8, 1896 in Springfield, where he was also buried.

Web links

• Calvin C. Chaffee in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Calvin C. Chaffee in the database of Find a Grave (English)