Team of Rivals (181 page)

“A vale of misery” descended upon Salmon P. Chase
(11 and 13)
after he lost three wives, including Catherine
(12)
and Sarah Bella
(13)
, in slightly over a decade.

Chase thereafter sought companionship with political friends such as Edwin M. Stanton
(14)
, whose own life had been marred by family tragedy. Only when he became governor of Ohio did Chase settle into a home of his own in Columbus
(15)
.

Julia Bates
(16 and 18)
provided Edward Bates
(17)
with what their friends uniformly described as an ideal home life. Through four decades of married life and the birth of seventeen children their intimacy remained strong.

In the 1850s, Northern sentiment was inflamed by the publication of
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
, with its disturbing scenes of slavery’s violence
(19)
, and by the landmark
Dred Scott
decision. Scott
(20)
had sued for his freedom, but the Supreme Court, led by Roger B. Taney
(21)
, decreed that he “had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.”

Lincoln’s gift for making and keeping friends, such as Joshua Speed
(22)
and David Davis
(23)
, played a critical role in both his personal happiness and professional advancement.