The Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society was established by the State of Ohio in 2023 to research and teach the historical ideas, traditions, and texts that have shaped the American constitutional order and society.
Salmon P. Chase exemplifies American citizenship well-lived. From humble origins to the pinnacle of civic and professional achievement, he is a model for the Chase Center’s scholarship and teaching. Chase moved to Ohio at a young age to become one of the nation’s leading pro-freedom lawyers. A fierce opponent of slavery, as an attorney, Chase defended Americans seeking their freedom when no one else would, and often at great personal cost. Chase co-founded the Free Soil Party, the Ohio Liberty Party, and later the Republican Party. He was one of the few Americans who has served at the highest levels of state and federal government and in all three branches of government. He served both as U.S. Senator from Ohio and later as Ohio’s governor. He was asked by President Abraham Lincoln to be his Secretary of the Treasury, where he financed the Civil War. President Lincoln then appointed Chase to be Chief Justice of the United States, where he presided over President Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial, and he authored opinions still regularly cited today, including cases that affirmed the important constitutional principles of federalism and limited and enumerated powers. Chase died while in office in 1873, and his remains were buried in his home of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Like its namesake, the Chase Center recognizes that American citizenship is a high calling, one for all Americans. Following in Chase’s footsteps, the Chase Center is a robust academic community dedicated to research and scholarship, teaching, and service in the field of civic thought and leadership. The Center’s faculty will come from a variety of disciplines important to citizenship, including both new faculty and faculty from other Ohio State units. The Center’s courses will provide students with knowledge of our common civic tradition, hone their civic skills, and shape their disposition to flourish as citizens in our pluralistic Republic. The Center’s public-facing programming will present students, faculty, and Ohioans with substantive discussions from a variety of viewpoints on topics related to civic thought and leadership, and model dialogue among citizens. The Center’s multi-tiered student programming will invite students to join the Center’s robust academic community through its opportunities for conversation, academic discussion, and fellowship, with a capstone study abroad opportunity. In sum, the Chase Center will help propel Ohio State to become the nation’s leader in the burgeoning field of civic thought and leadership.
The Chase Center will prepare students to live well in whatever path life takes them and to simultaneously do well for Ohio and the United States, like Salmon P. Chase. The Center’s courses give students the opportunity to read primary texts; its curriculum emphasizes research and writing; student regularly present their research and viewpoints orally, both in class and in other fora; and students both learn about and have opportunities to hone their capacity for leadership.