Caleb Cushing, was a poet and politician, essayist and diplomat, general and lawyer. This work is his biography. It delivers a work to specialists in the areas of mid-nineteenth-century political, legal, and diplomatic history, and to those interested in New England history, antebellum gender relations, civil-military relations, and Mexican War.

First as a spokesman for the Whig and then the Democratic parties, Caleb Cushing served in Congress, as the minister to China, as a general in the Mexican War, as U.S. attorney general, and as a legal adviser and diplomatic operative for Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant. With an unharnessed mind and probing intellect, Cushing inspired and infuriated contemporaries with his strident views on race relations and gender roles, national expansion, and the legitimacy of secession. His abilities and talents sustained him in public service and made him one of the most fascinating figures of the era.