Born December 19, 1814
Steubenville, Ohio

Died December 24, 1869
Washington, D.C.

Attorney general, secretary of war, and lawyer

Edwin Stanton. The Library of Congress.

"Now he belongs to the ages." (on the death of Abraham Lincoln)

Edwin Stanton was one of the nation's best-known attorneys during the 1850s, an extremely effective secretary of war under President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865; served 1861–65) during most of the Civil War (1861–65), and a controversial figure in the administration of President Andrew Johnson (1808–1875; served 1865–69; see entry). As Johnson struggled with Congress over control of Reconstruction, the program through which states that joined the Confederacy would reenter the Union, Stanton openly sided with the views of congressional leaders. Johnson hesitated to fire Stanton; when he finally demanded Stanton's resignation, Congress began the first-ever impeachment (formal accusation of wrongdoing) case against a U.S. president. Known for his quick temper and penetrating questions, Stanton overcame personal tragedies...