Salmon Portland Chase
served as Abraham Lincoln's first Secretary of the Treasury, in which capacity he helped develop the national banking system. In 1864 he was named Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, in which capacity he presided over the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868.

James William Denver
served as Territorial Governor of Kansas from 1857 to 1858, during which time the voters of Kansas approved a pro-slavery state constitution. The city of Denver, Colorado, was founded during his tenure, and was named in his honor.

Stephen Arnold Douglas
served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. During his tenure he played an important role in resolving differences between Northerners and Southerners over the issue of slavery. His famous debates with Abraham Lincoln were held during his 1858 Senate re-election campaign.

John Charles Frémont
led two major expeditions into the West and Far West which resulted in maps of areas never before mapped. He also took part in the "Bear Flag Revolt" in California, ran for President in 1856, and served as a Major General in the Civil War.

William Henry Seward
served in the New York State Senate, as Governor of New York, and in the U.S. Senate before being named Secretary of State, in which capacity he served from 1861 to 1869. His most important accomplishment during this period was the purchase of Alaska from Russia.

Charles Sumner
spent 23 years in the U.S. Senate, where he was a very vocal opponent of slavery. One of his speeches resulted in his being caned by a U.S. Congressman so severely that he was unable to sit in the Senate for three years; he was, however, continuously re-elected by the Legislature of Massachusetts, and his Senate chair remained vacant during that time.

Robert John Walker
served as James Polk's Secretary of the Treasury, in which capacity he re-established the independent treasury system. As Territorial Governor of Kansas, he refused to support the Lecompton Constitution, which would have made Kansas a slave state.