When Salmon Portland Chase commenced as chief justice in December 1864, America was ending the most bloody war ever fought on its soil. Chase's court ultimately created a new constitutionalism that sought to reconcile the realities of war with the changing relationships between the three branches of government and the American people.

A revealing examination of the Supreme Court's justices and their "cautiously moderate" jurisprudence during the ten-year tenure of Chief Justice Salmon Portland Chase.

The Chase Court: Justices, Rulings, and Legacy examines the workings and legacies of the Supreme Court during the tenure of Chief Justice Salmon Portland Chase. Accompanying an in-depth analysis of the Chase Court's landmark rulings on Civil War and Reconstruction issues that shaped U.S. history—such as military commissions and the status of seceding states—are detailed discussions of the Court's rulings on government-issued paper currency "greenbacks" and the newly ratified 14th Amendment.

Salmon Portland Chase's role as the first chief justice to preside over the impeachment of a president is carefully examined. Profiles of the 13 Chase Court justices describe their rise to prominence, controversies surrounding their nominations, work on the court, judicial philosophies, important decisions, and overall impacts.

• A–Z entries include the significant rulings involving Reconstruction and restoration of the Union such as Ex parte Milligan (1866), the Test Oath Cases (1867), Ex parte McCardle (1868), and Texas v. White (1869)
• An analysis of the historical impact and continuing legacy of decisions such as the Court's narrow interpretation of the 14th Amendment in the famous Slaughterhouse Cases