All throughout American history, important and vital military leaders have run for office in order to further pursue their own political careers, many of these military leaders such as George Washington go down in history as one of the greats. Although what happens to these leaders if they run for office but lose? A prime example is the one and only Lewis Cass. Lewis Cass lost to Zachary Taylor to be the democratic nominee in the election following the Mexican American war, an important period of time in America. Although Cass never became president of the United States, he was still a vital figure in American history and politics. His legacy lived on much past the defeat of the lost election.
In 1782 Cass was born in the state of New Hampshire, unlike most political leaders at the time he was born into a family of farmers. Despite the fact that he grew up in the primarily agricultural sector of America he always carried with him a strong sense of patriotism and from a young age wanted to be involved in the military. This was due to the influence of his father who fought under President Washington the battle of bunker hill. Cass’s accomplishments began with the first war he took part in, the war of 1812. He kicked off his career by first taking leadership roles among the Masons. He then moved on to become a colonel of soldiers. Shortly after, he was appointed to lead the militia in Ohio still during the early years of the war. Due to his mass success at his appointed roles, he started to rapidly climb the ranks. He soon became the major general of the Ohio militia, which served him as a grand accomplishment and major rank boost from his previous positions. Although his accomplishments did not stop there, in 1813 he became the general of the whole Michigan territory, immediately following his resign from governor he became the secretary of war and served directly under president Jackson. For all of his accomplishments and hard work, he was then awarded the position of Minister of France in 1836. Shortly after this long line of accomplishments came his failed election. Although Cass did not let this minor set back taint his legacy, he then immediately went on to become a US senator. Cass proved to the nation that one political setback does end a man's career, he showed resilience and perseverance and never let his country down in all his years of serving.
I like how you incorporated the past of Lewis Cass into what his future might look like. For example, when you mentioned the fact that his father had fought under George Washington in the battle of Bunker Hill. After reading that it made sense to think he would grow up to become a very patriotic person given is fathers past in one of the most famous battles in US history. I wish I would have learned a little more about his future after he lost the election and how it changed him as a person.
ReplyDelete