Caleb Blood Smith
| Caleb Blood Smith | |
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| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Indiana | |
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In office December 22, 1862 – January 7, 1864 |
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| Appointed by | Abraham Lincoln |
| Preceded by | Elisha Mills Huntington |
| Succeeded by | Albert Smith White |
| 6th United States Secretary of the Interior | |
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In office March 5, 1861 – December 31, 1862 |
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| President | Abraham Lincoln |
| Preceded by | Jacob Thompson |
| Succeeded by | John Palmer Usher |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 4th district |
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In office March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1849 |
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| Preceded by | James H. Cravens |
| Succeeded by | George W. Julian |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 16, 1808 Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Died | January 7, 1864 (aged 55) Indianapolis, Indiana, US |
| Political party | Whig, Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth B. Watton Smith |
| Alma mater |
Cincinnati College Miami University |
| Profession | Politician, Lawyer, Journalist |
| Signature |  |
Caleb Blood Smith (April 16, 1808 – January 7, 1864) was an American journalist and politician, serving in the Cabinet of Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War.
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he emigrated with his parents to Ohio in 1814, was educated at Cincinnati College and Miami University, studied law in Cincinnati and in Connersville, Indiana, and was admitted to the bar in 1828. He began practice at the latter place, established and edited the Sentinel in 1832, served several terms in the Indiana legislature, and was in the United States Congress in 1843–1849, having been elected as a Whig. During his congressional career, he was one of the Mexican claims commissioners. He returned to the practice of law in 1850, residing in Cincinnati and subsequently in Indianapolis. He was influential in securing the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency at the Chicago Republican National Convention in 1860.
Smith became a Freemason in Warren Lodge No. 15 at Connersville, Indiana in 1829. He would go on to serve as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Indiana in 1837. Today, the highest award presented by the Grand Lodge of Indiana is the Caleb B. Smith Medal of Honor.
Lincoln appointed Smith as the United States Secretary of the Interior in 1861 as a reward for his work in the presidential campaign. He was the first citizen of Indiana to hold a Presidential Cabinet position. However, Smith had little interest in the job and, with declining health, delegated most of his responsibilities to Assistant Secretary of the Interior John Palmer Usher. In 1862, he was interested in the empty seat in the United States Supreme Court vacated by John Archibald Campbell's resignation the previous year. However, Lincoln nominated David Davis for the position instead. When Lincoln showed the draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet, the conservative Smith considered resignation upon its public announcement, but accepted the decision in the end. After Smith resigned in December 1862 due to poor health, Usher became Secretary. Smith went home to become the United States circuit judge for Indiana. He died January 7, 1864, from his ill health. President Lincoln ordered that government buildings be draped in black for two weeks in a sign of mourning for Smith's death.
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