Isaac S. Hascall

Isaac Skinner Hascall (March 8, 1831 – January 18, 1908) was a lawyer who served in the Nebraska State Senate from 1867 to 1869 and again from 1871 to 1873, serving as President of the Senate from 1871 to 1873. Hascall read law in Mayville, New York, and was admitted to practice law in New York in 1853. Congress had rejected the proposed Nebraska Constitution of 1866 and Nebraska's application for statehood until Nebraska agreed to an amendment allowing black people to vote. When the special session convened to consider the black suffrage amendment, Hascall became the deciding vote in favor of black suffrage, allowing the amendment to pass and thus hastening Nebraska's statehood which came into force on March 1, 1867.

Hascall resigned his position as Probate Judge in August 1867 in order to travel West to Cheyenne, Wyoming. He returned to Omaha in 1868 and was again elected to the Nebraska State Senate for Douglas County in 1870. Hascall made this declaration based on Section 17 of Article III of the Nebraska Constitution of 1866, which read, "If, during the vacancy of the office of Governor, the Secretary of State shall be impeached, displaced, resign, die, or be absent from the State, the powers and duties of the office of Governor shall devolve upon the President of the Senate." By declaring himself Acting Governor, Hascall then claimed the power to call a special session of the Nebraska Legislature to enact various legislation, including by implication the consideration of impeachment of Acting Governor James, who was absent from the state. It is said that Hascall was able to affix the Great Seal of the State of Nebraska to his proclamation calling for a special legislative session by telling Acting Governor James's private secretary that he needed the seal to certify the appointment of a notary public. On February 22, 1872, the Supreme Court of Nebraska rendered its decision on the legality of the special session.

After leaving the Nebraska State Senate in 1873, Hascall mostly focused his time on local politics in the city of Omaha. He served on the Omaha City Council for a time and also tried starting some hotels in Omaha which eventually failed. and a newspaper article and an obituary say that Hascall was a Republican.

Personal life Hascall married Sarah J. Harrison in July 1856 in Chautauqua County, New York. He was an active mason and member of the Capitol Lodge in Omaha. He died in Omaha, Nebraska, on January 18, 1908.