 |
 George Monroe Beebe
was a lawyer and newspaper editor. He also served
as Acting Governor of Kansas Territory and in the
U.S. House of Representatives. |
 Salmon Portland Chase
served as Abraham Lincoln's first Secretary of
the Treasury, in which capacity he helped develop
the national banking system. In 1864 he was named
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, in which
capacity he presided over the impeachment trial
of President Andrew Johnson in 1868. |
 James William Denver
served as Territorial Governor of Kansas from
1857 to 1858, during which time the voters of
Kansas approved a pro-slavery state constitution.
The city of Denver, Colorado, was founded during
his tenure, and was named in his honor. |
 Stephen Arnold Douglas
served in both houses of the U.S. Congress.
During his tenure he played an important role in
resolving differences between Northerners and
Southerners over the issue of slavery. His famous
debates with Abraham Lincoln were held during his
1858 Senate re-election campaign. |
 John Charles Frémont
led two major expeditions into the West and Far
West which resulted in maps of areas never before
mapped. He also took part in the "Bear Flag
Revolt" in California, ran for President in
1856, and served as a Major General in the Civil
War. |
 Horace Greeley
was a very successful newspaper publisher whose
editorials played an important part in molding
public opinion. He is best remembered for the
quote "Go West, young man," even though
he was not its original author. |
 William Henry Seward
served in the New York State Senate, as Governor
of New York, and in the U.S. Senate before being
named Secretary of State, in which capacity he
served from 1861 to 1869. His most important
accomplishment during this period was the
purchase of Alaska from Russia. |
 Charles
Sumner spent 23 years in the U.S.
Senate, where he was a very vocal opponent of
slavery. One of his speeches resulted in his
being caned by a U.S. Congressman so severely
that he was unable to sit in the Senate for three
years; he was, however, continuously re-elected
by the Legislature of Massachusetts, and his
Senate chair remained vacant during that time. |
 Robert John Walker
served as James Polk's Secretary of the Treasury,
in which capacity he re-established the
independent treasury system. As Territorial
Governor of Kansas, he refused to support the
Lecompton Constitution, which would have made
Kansas a slave state. |
