Stanton, Edwin McMasters, 1814-1869

Variant names
Dates:
Birth 1814-12-19
Death 1869-12-24
English,

Biographical notes:

American jurist and politician.

From the description of Letter signed : "War Department," to William Pitt Fessenden, 1862 May 19. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270580939

U.S. secretary of war 1862-1868.

From the description of Telegram (draft) : ms. : Washington, D.C., to Ulysses S. Grant, Appomattox C.H., Va., 1865 Apr. 9. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122380613

Secretary of War; Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

From the description of Autograph signature to letter : Washington, to Andrew Johnson when Gov. of Tennessee, 1863 Apr. 2. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270493710

Secretary of War. Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

From the description of Autograph signature to letter : Washington, to Andrew Johnson when vice-president of the United States, 1865 Mar. 3. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270493719

Edwin McMasters Stanton was a lawyer, politician, United States attorney general in 1860-1861 and secretary of war through most of the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. A native of Steubenville, Ohio, Stanton attended Kenyon College but left before completing his degree to support his family. After being admitted to the Ohio bar in 1836, Stanton practiced law in Ohio and subsequently in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Washington, D.C. In 1860 President James Buchanan appointed him attorney general. Although he opposed Abraham Lincoln politically, he agreed to serve as an advisor to Secretary of War Simon Cameron and later to replace Cameron in the job in 1862. He continued to serve as secretary of war under President Andrew Johnson until Johnson attempted to remove him from office after they clashed over his Reconstruction policy. Stanton resigned in 1868. The following year President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him to the Supreme Court, but Stanton died four days after he was confirmed by the Senate.

From the description of Edwin McMasters Stanton letter, 1860 May 2. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 351422354

From the description of Edwin McMasters Stanton papers, 1832-1957 (bulk 1858-1957). (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 374599981

From the description of Edwin McMasters Stanton letter, 1832 Oct. 26. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 351432311

Secretary of War under President Lincoln.

From the description of Letters, 1863-1869. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155494949

U.S. attorney general under James Buchanan; appointed Secretary of war by Abraham Lincoln, served from 20 Jan. 1862 until Andrew Johnson's acquittal on 26 May 1868.

From the description of ALS : Washington, D.C., to Charles A. Dana, 1861 [i.e., 1862] Jan. 24. (Rosenbach Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122490255

Lawyer, U.S. attorney general, and U.S. secretary of war.

From the description of Edwin McMasters Stanton papers, 1818-1921 (bulk 1862-1870). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70981200

Stanton was a lawyer and politician best remembered for his leadership during the Civil War, serving as Lincoln's Attorney General and Secretary of War.

From the description of Telegram, 1862 June 11 [to] General George W. Morgan. (Indiana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 27870676

U.S. Secretary of War during the Civil War.

From the description of Letter copy, 1862. (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 39100421

Stanton, a lawyer first in Ohio and then in Pennsylvania, was Attorney General in the cabinet of James Buchanan, and Secretary of War under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson (1862-1868).

From the description of Letter, September 21, 1866. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 310760855

Secretary of War in Abraham Lincoln's Cabinet.

From the description of Letters, May 20, 1862, April 16, 1865. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 55662303

Edwin McMasters Stanton served as Secretary of War during the Civil War and into the early Reconstruction period.

From the description of Edwin M. Stanton manuscript, 1840, 1854-1869. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 255585640

Edwin McMasters Stanton served as Attorney General under President James Buchanan and Secretary of War under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.

From the description of Edwin McMasters Stanton letter, 1842 Feb. 26. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 262478055

From the description of Edwin McMasters Stanton letter, 1858 Jan. 24. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 680500502

From the description of Edwin M. Stanton registers and papers, 1861-1868. (Louisiana State University). WorldCat record id: 262841344

George Armstrong Custer was a famous cavalry officer during the Civil War and the Indian wars of the 1860s and 1870s. Elizabeth Bacon Custer, his wife, was the author of several works about Army life on the plains. After the death of her husband, she dedicated her life to defending his honor.

From the guide to the George A. and Elizabeth B. Custer papers, 1857-1929, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)

Secretary of War.

From the description of Autograph order signed with initials, [n.d.]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270580474

American justice and politician.

From the description of Autograph letter signed : Washington, to Horace Greeley, 1862 Mar. 29. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270579100

Biographical Note

1814, Dec. 19 Born, Steubenville, Ohio 1831 1834 Attended Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio 1836 Admitted to the bar, Cadiz, Ohio Married Mary Ann Lamson (died 1844) 1837 1839 Prosecuting attorney, Harrison County, Ohio 1839 Moved to Steubenville, Ohio; became law partner of Benjamin Tappan 1847 Moved to Pittsburgh, Pa. 1849 1856 Counsel for the state of Pennsylvania 1856 Married Ellen M. Hutchison Moved to Washington, D.C. 1858 Special counsel to United States in California land grant cases 1860 1861 United States attorney general 1861 Confidential adviser to General George B. McClellan; legal adviser to Secretary of War Simon Cameron 1862 1868 United States secretary of war 1869 Nomination confirmed to the United States Supreme Court; never served 1869, Dec. 24 Died, Washington, D.C.

From the guide to the Edwin McMasters Stanton Papers, 1818-1921, (bulk 1862-1870), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)

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Subjects:

  • United States
  • Banking law
  • Claims against decedents' estates
  • Collecting of accounts
  • College dropouts
  • General
  • Generals
  • Gold mines and mining
  • Government, Law and Politics
  • Impeachments
  • Indians of North America
  • Land tenure
  • Lawyers
  • Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876
  • Military
  • Railroads
  • Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
  • Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877)
  • Religious communities
  • Republican Party
  • Shakers
  • Trials

Occupations:

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  • Gold miners
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  • Newspaper editors
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Places:

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  • Mount Lebanon (N.Y.) (as recorded)
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