Occupation: Lawyer, Senator and Congressman, US Attorney General

More CALEB CUSHING: BIOGRAPHY & PHOTOS
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~cushinc/caleb1800.html

Caleb graduated at Harvard in 1817, pursued a post-graduate course in mathematics, moral philosophy and law, 1817-19, and was tutor in mathematics and natural philosophy, 1820-21. He then engaged as law clerk in the office of Ebenezer Mosley of Newburyport, and was admitted to the bar in 1822. In 1825, 1833, 1834, 1846 and 1850 he was a representative in the state legislature from Newburyport, and in 1826 a State Senator from Essex county. He was a Whig representative in the 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th congresses, 1835-43. In the disruption of the party incident to the accession of President Tyler, Mr.Cushing supported the administration and came to be classed as a Democrat. President Tyler sent his name to the Senate as Secretary of the Treasury, but he was refused confirmation on political grounds. The President in 1843 appointed him commissioner to China to negotiate a treaty with that empire, enlarging his powers to envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, and in 1844 authorizing him to treat also with Japan. He was successful in negotiating a treaty and establishing regular diplomatic relations with the celestial empire and in 1844 he returned to America by way of Mexico, thus completing the circumnavigation of the globe. In 1846 he was elected by both parties as state representative from Newburyport. He appealed to the Massachusetts legislature to appropriate $20,000 to equip a regiment of volunteers for the Mexican war. Failing to obtain the appropriation, he, with the aid of friends, contributed the sum needed, and he went to Mexico as colonel of the regiment, being promoted brigadier-general soon after his arrival at the seat of war. While in Mexico he was nominated by the Democrats of Massachusetts for Governor of the state and was again nominated in 1848, but in both elections was defeated by George N. Briggs, the Whig candidate. In 1850 he was again a member of the state legislature and was Mayor of Newburyport, 1851-52. He was appointed an additional Justice of the Supreme Court of the state in 1852 and on March 4 1853, he was appointed by President Pierce attorney-general in his cabinet. At the close of the Pierce administration he was state representative from Newburyport three successive terms. At the meeting of the Democratic national convention in Charleston, South Carolina, April 1860, Mr. Cushing was made permanent chairman and left the convention with the other northern Democrats who subsequently met in Baltimore, Maryland, and nominated Stephen A. Douglas as their candidate for the presidency. President Buchanan appointed him in December 1860, a confidential commissioner to South Carolina to determine the disposition of the people toward reconciliation. He supported the administration of Mr. Lincoln, offering his services to Governor Andrew "in any capacity, however humble, in which it may be possible for me to contribute to the public weal in the present critical emergency," and was entrusted with various confidential missions both by the President and by the cabinet officials at Washington. In 1866 he was a member of the commission appointed to revise and codify the laws of congress. He was sent to Bogota, South America, in 1868, by Secretary Seward, to negotiate with the United States of Colombia, and successfully accomplished the mission. He was with Morrison Waite and William M. Evans counsel for the United States at Geneva in 1871 in settling the Alabama claims. In 1878, upon the death of Chief Justice Chase, President Grant appointed Mr. Cushing chief justice of the United States, but his name was not favorably received by the senate and before a vote was taken Mr. Cushing declined the appointment. He was U.S. minister to Spain, 1874-77. He was married in 1823 to Caroline, daughter of Judge Wilde of the Massachusetts supreme court. He received from Harvard the degree of A.M. in 1820 and that of LL.D. in 1852. He was an overseer of Harvard, 1852-56, and was a member of the Massachusetts historical society and a fellow of the American academy of arts and sciences. Among his works are: History of the Town of Newburyport (1826); The Practical Principles of Political Economy (1826); Historical and Political Review of the Late Revolution in France (2 vols., 1833); Reminiscences of Spain (2 vole., 1833); Growth and Territorial Progress of the United States (1839); Life of William H. Harrison (1840) and The Treaty of Washington (1873); and frequent contributions to magazines and reviews. He died in Newburyport, Mass., Jan. 2, 1879.

"In the death of Mr. Cushing, not only his native state, but the nation will feel the loss of a man who for more than half a century has been distinguished for his learning and eloquence as a lawyer and judge, as a legislator and diplomatist and as a man of letters, contributing largely, by state papers and contributions to various periodicals, to the literature of his time. He was also noted for his conversational and forensic talents, and for his knowledge of foreign languages. Probably no other man that ever held office in the country, with the exception of John Quincy Adams, ever brought so much real knowledge to the transaction of business, while his versatility and readiness were equal to his attainments."

BRICHER, Alfred Thompson, artist, was born at Portsmouth, N.H., April 10, 1839. When only an infant his family removed to Newburyport, Mass., where he studied the English branches at the academy. When quite young he removed to Boston, where he engaged as a clerk in a drygoods store, but devoting his leisure time to unassisted essays in painting and to studies in drawing at the Lowell institute of that city. At twenty years of age he opened a studio in Newburyport. His first order for a painting was from Caleb Cushing, the picture afterwards coming into the possession of Harriet Prescott Spofford, who had been a school-mate of the artist. He opened a studio in Boston early in the civil war, and soon made a reputation by his paintings of autumn scenery, which were extensively reproduced by Prang and others.

1838-1845 Index of plt of Washington County, Maine
"5/4/542","Cushing, Caleb (Exec.)","Plt","Newburyport, MA"
"6/21/307","Cushing, Caleb (Exec.)","Plt","Newburyport, MA"

Military: On the 15th of January, 1847, he was commissioned Colonel of the Massachusetts Regiment and led it to Mexico. While serving there, 14 Apr 1847, he was made a Brigadier-General and held the office through the war until July, 1848.
"Volunteers were gathered to be under the command of Col. Caleb Cushing, Feb 25, 1847"

GENERAL CUSHING

BRIGADIER-GENERAL CALEB CUSHING is a native of Newburyport,
in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. He was educated at Harvard University, where he graduated in the year 1817 with very distinguished honors. He afterwards became a tutor in the University, and was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. During his connection with the University he was one of the ablest of the contributors to the North American Review. Abandoning these purely literary pursuits, he studied law, and practiced in his native town till the year 1835, when he was elected a member of Congress from his native district, on the Whig ticket. He continued to be a member of the House of Representatives until the year 1843, when he was sent on the mission to China by President Tyler. After his return he remained retired from public life until April 14th, 1847, when he was appointed brigadier-general in the army. He joined General Taylor during the summer, but was afterwards ordered to Vera Cruz. A number of important duties detained him at this place until after the capture of the Mexican capital, thus preventing him from participating in the toils and dangers of our army. His prompt discharge of every known duty, and his amiability as an officer and companion, have endeared him to all those with whom the fortune of war has placed him.

Caleb Cushing

A significant aspect of Caleb Cushing's long and distinguished career was his service as a US Commissioner to China in 1844 and the Treaty that was concluded through his negotiations over a 6 month period while in China.

Commercial expansion in Asia involved diplomatic entreaties with two important nations, China and Japan. The "China Market" was always a significant lure for American merchants who had engaged in trade with the empire since the 18th century. Following the conclusion of the First Opium War in 1842, Britain forced China to grant it special privileges, including exclusive British use of coastal ports. Not wanting to miss out on similar opportunities, President John Tyler appointed Caleb Cushing to undertake a mission to open Chinese ports to American trade. In 1844, Cushing negotiated the he Treaty of Wang Hiya (Wanghsia), the first treaty between the United States and China. This treaty granted to American merchants the same rights as Britain based upon the "most-favored nation" principle. The treaty with Japan would have to wait until the Perry Expedition in 1852-4. In a sense, Cushing and Perry occupied very similar roles. However, while Perry used force and the might of a US Naval squadron, Cushing employed persuasion and diplomacy without the resort to the clear threat of military force.
- Biography from the US Attorney General's Website

Caleb Cushing
Twenty-Third Attorney General 1853-1857
Caleb Cushing was born in Salisbury, Massachusetts, on January 17, 1800. He entered Harvard at age 13, graduating in 1817. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1821. He was a member of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1825, and in 1826 a member of the State senate. Cushing was elected to Congress in 1834 and served until 1843. In 1843, as Commissioner to China, he made the first treaty between that country and the United States. He was elected again to the Massachusetts Legislature. In 1847, Cushing raised a regiment for the Mexican War, at his own expense. From 1850 to 1852, he was again in the Massachusetts Legislature, then was appointed associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court.
On March 7, 1853, he was appointed Attorney General of the United States by President Pierce. From 1857 to 1859, Cushing served in the State legislature, and in 1860 President Buchanan sent him to Charleston as Confidential Commissioner to the Secessionists of South Carolina. In 1866, he served as one of three commissioners to revise and codify the laws of Congress. Cushing was sent to Bogota in 1868 to negotiate the right-of-way for ships across the Isthmus of Panama. In 1872 he was counsel for the United States at the Geneva Convention, and from 1874 to 1877 Minister to Spain, appointed by President Grant. He died in Newburysport, Massachusetts, on January 2, 1879.
http://www.usdoj.gov/jmd/ls/agbiographies.htm#cushing

Cushing, Caleb (1800-1879) of Newburyport, Essex County, Mass. Born in Salisbury, Essex County, Mass., January 17, 1800. Democrat. Lawyer; member of Massachusetts state house of representatives, 1825, 1833-34, 1845-46, 1850; member of Massachusetts state senate, 1827; U.S. Representative from Massachusetts 3rd District, 1835-43; defeated, 1833; U.S. Minister to China, 1843-45; colonel in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War; candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, 1847, 1848; mayor of Newburyport, Mass., 1851-52; justice of Massachusetts state supreme court, 1852-53; U.S. Attorney General, 1853-57; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Massachusetts, 1860; U.S. Minister to Spain, 1874-77. Died in Newburyport, Essex County, Mass., January 2, 1879. Interment at Highland Cemetery, Newburyport, Mass.
Poltical Graveyard, http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/cushing.html

More HON. CALEB CUSHING : BIOGRAPHY & PHOTOGRAPHS
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cushinc/caleb1800.html

Sources:
1. The Genealogy of the Cushing Family (An account of the Ancestors and Descendants of Matthew Cushing, who came to America in 1638) by James Cushing, The Perrault Printing Co - Montreal, 1905. First Edition, 1877, by Lemuel Cushing, D1881 (Finished by his family) Pg 206.
2. Nineteenth Centrury Death Notices Extracted from Fredonia Censor, pg 151
3. The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume III
4. History of Concord NH, 1856 by Nathaniel Bouton
5. The Mexican war and its heroes: being a complete history of the Mexican war, embracing all the operations under Generals Taylor and Scott, with a biography of the officers. Also, an account of the conquests of California and New Mexico.
vi p., 1 l., 11-283, [1], 11-224 p. front., plates, ports., plan. 19 cm.
Philadelphia; J. B. Lippincott & co.; 1860

• Married: 23 Nov 1824 in Newburyport, Essex, Massachusetts