Caleb Cushing was a prominent American diplomat, lawyer, and politician from Massachusetts who served in a variety of influential roles during the 19th century. A member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he later became the U.S. Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce. As a diplomat, Cushing was instrumental in negotiating the Treaty of Wanghia in 1844, the first formal treaty signed between the United States and China. His long and often controversial career was marked by shifting political loyalties but he remained a significant figure in American law and foreign relations.