Charles Daniel Drake (April 11, 1811 – April 1, 1892) was a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

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and Chief Justice of the Court of Claims. Charles Drake was successively a Whig, a

Know Nothing The American Party, known as the Native American Party before 1855 and colloquially referred to as the Know Nothings, or the Know Nothing Party, was an Old Stock Americans, Old Stock Nativism in United States politics, nativist political movem ...

, and a

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Education and career

Born on April 11, 1811, in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, Drake attended St. Joseph's College in

Bardstown Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a ...

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in 1823 and 1824, and Partridge's Military Academy in Middletown,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

in 1824 to 1825. He was a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

in the

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from 1827 to 1830. He

read law Reading law was the primary method used in common law countries, particularly the United States, for people to prepare for and enter the legal profession before the advent of law schools. It consisted of an extended internship or apprenticeship un ...

with Benjamin Drake in Cincinnati. He entered private practice in Cincinnati from 1833 to 1834. He continued private practice in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, Missouri from 1834 to 1847, then returned to Cincinnati from 1847 to 1849. He was treasurer of the Board of Foreign Missions of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Church in 1849. He resumed private practice in St. Louis from 1850 to 1867. He was a member of the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

from 1859 to 1860. He was a delegate and Vice President of the Missouri constitutional convention in 1865.

Leader of Radical Republicans

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Drake became a fierce opponent of slavery, and a leader of the

Radical Republicans The Radical Republicans were a political faction within the Republican Party originating from the party's founding in 1854—some six years before the Civil War—until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reconstruction. They ca ...

. From 1861 to 1863, he proposed without success the immediate and uncompensated emancipation of slaves. He was defeated by the conservative Republicans led by Governor

Hamilton Rowan Gamble Hamilton Rowan Gamble (November 29, 1798 – January 31, 1864) was an American jurist and politician who served as the Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court at the time of the Dred Scott case in 1852. Although his colleagues voted to ov ...

and supported by Lincoln. By 1863, Drake had organized his Radical faction and called for immediate emancipation, a new constitution, and a system of disfranchisement of all Confederate sympathizers in Missouri. He served as vice president of the 1865 state constitutional convention, where he stood out as the most active leader. Missouri German leader

Carl Schurz Carl Christian Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German-American revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He migrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent ...

commented about him, "in politics he was inexorable ... most of the members of his party, especially in the country districts, stood much in awe of him." The new Constitution was adopted and became known as the "Drake constitution." The Radicals maintained absolute control of the state from 1865 to 1871, with Drake as their leader. To maintain power, Drake and the Radical Republicans disfranchised every man who had supported the Confederacy, even indirectly. They made an 81-point checklists of actions. The

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

reversed the imposition of the oath on ministers, and became a highly controversial political issue across the state. The German Republicans in particular were angry.Martha Kohl, "Enforcing a Vision of Community: The Role of the Test Oath in Missouri's Reconstruction." ''Civil War History'' 40.4 (1994): 292-307. To further bolster his voting base, he secured the franchise for all black men in Missouri, despite qualms held by many Republicans.

Congressional service

Drake was elected as a Republican to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

and served from March 4, 1867, to December 19, 1870, when he resigned to accept a federal judicial position. He served as Chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Education for the

41st United States Congress The 41st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1869, ...

Federal judicial service

Drake was nominated by President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

on December 12, 1870, to the Chief Justice seat on the Court of Claims (later the United States Court of Claims) vacated by Chief Justice Joseph Casey. He was confirmed by the

on December 12, 1870, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on December 12, 1885, due to his resignation.

Later career and death

Following his resignation from the federal bench, Drake resumed private practice in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

from 1885 to 1892. He died on April 1, 1892, in Washington, D.C. His remains were cremated and the ashes interred in

Bellefontaine Cemetery Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine has several architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as the Louis Su ...

in St. Louis.

Family

Drake's father,

Daniel Drake Daniel Drake (October 20, 1785 – November 5, 1852) was a pioneering American physician and prolific writer. Early life Drake was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, to Isaac Drake and Elizabeth Shotwell. He was the elder brother of Benjamin ...

(1785–1852), was an American physician and author. His uncle, Benjamin Drake (1795–1841), was an American historian, editor, and writer.

Works

* *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Charles D. 1811 births 1892 deaths American legal writers American Presbyterians Republican Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives People of the Six Years' War Missouri state court judges Politicians from Cincinnati United States Navy midshipmen Judges of the United States Court of Claims Republican Party United States senators from Missouri Radical Republicans Missouri Republicans Norwich University alumni United States Article I federal judges appointed by Ulysses S. Grant 19th-century Missouri state court judges 19th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly