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Stanton: The Life and Times of Lincoln's Secretary of War
Biography
642 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1962
3 people are currently reading
27 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin P. Thomas
36 books7 followersThe son of a storekeeper, Benjamin Platt Thomas was two years old when his father died. After his mother's remarriage to a Baptist minister, Thomas moved frequently throughout the mid-Atlantic states. He earned his bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University, and returned after a brief period as a teacher and bond salesman to earn his doctorate. Upon receiving his Ph.D. in 1929 Thomas taught as an associate professor of history at Birmingham-Southern College, in Birmingham, Alabama.
In 1932, Thomas accepted an offer to become executive secretary of the Abraham Lincoln Association. In that role he edited the organization's quarterly publication and wrote two books published by the Association. Thomas left the Association in 1937 and worked in insurance and as a farmer for several years. He returned to the Abraham Lincoln Association in 1939 by becoming a director, and took up the position of the body's treasurer three years later. Thomas sold his insurance business in 1944 to focus on scholarship, and wrote a series of books, the most notable of which, his 1952 biography of Abraham Lincoln, became a national bestseller. He was working on a biography of Lincoln's second secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, when he committed suicide after receiving a diagnosis of throat cancer.
In 1932, Thomas accepted an offer to become executive secretary of the Abraham Lincoln Association. In that role he edited the organization's quarterly publication and wrote two books published by the Association. Thomas left the Association in 1937 and worked in insurance and as a farmer for several years. He returned to the Abraham Lincoln Association in 1939 by becoming a director, and took up the position of the body's treasurer three years later. Thomas sold his insurance business in 1944 to focus on scholarship, and wrote a series of books, the most notable of which, his 1952 biography of Abraham Lincoln, became a national bestseller. He was working on a biography of Lincoln's second secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, when he committed suicide after receiving a diagnosis of throat cancer.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 26, 2013
I think I may have just learned more from this book about the American Civil War than I had from all my prior studying and reading on the topic. With the focus on Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, this book not only highlights the difficulties faced by Lincoln and his cabinet in fighting an internal rebellion while trying to maintain a constitutional democracy, but emphasizes the ideological tensions that continued to mount following Lincoln’s assassination. Most histories I’ve read from this period seem to fizzle out after Lincoln’s death and the trials of those accused in the assassination conspiracy.
As for the man Stanton, author’s Thomas and Hyman seem, in the end, to foster a rather compassionate review of his dedicated service to the nation. They do frequently cite other less-favorable verdicts of his character and performance found in the memoirs of his contemporaries or prior studies by historians, but in most of those cases they provide evidence to cast doubt on those conclusions. They don’t try to deny that Stanton had been a difficult man to work with, or to claim that he was always honest or straightforward, but do seem to maintain that he was to the end a very principled man willing to sacrifice his health and personal happiness for the preservation of the Union as a constitutional democracy.
The troubling questions seemed of unlimited number and impact at that time in our history. Stanton emerges as a central character in our survival as a single nation because of the often tumultuous, but eventually close and effective working relationships he developed first with Lincoln, and later with General Ulysses S. Grant. I finished this book with the feeling that if it were not for this trio, history would have taken a drastically different course.
As for the man Stanton, author’s Thomas and Hyman seem, in the end, to foster a rather compassionate review of his dedicated service to the nation. They do frequently cite other less-favorable verdicts of his character and performance found in the memoirs of his contemporaries or prior studies by historians, but in most of those cases they provide evidence to cast doubt on those conclusions. They don’t try to deny that Stanton had been a difficult man to work with, or to claim that he was always honest or straightforward, but do seem to maintain that he was to the end a very principled man willing to sacrifice his health and personal happiness for the preservation of the Union as a constitutional democracy.
The troubling questions seemed of unlimited number and impact at that time in our history. Stanton emerges as a central character in our survival as a single nation because of the often tumultuous, but eventually close and effective working relationships he developed first with Lincoln, and later with General Ulysses S. Grant. I finished this book with the feeling that if it were not for this trio, history would have taken a drastically different course.
December 2, 2019
You budding Civil War buffs this book is about Edwin M. Stanton who came into Lincoln's Cabinet at
the beginning of 1862. Looking at a group picture of the Cabinet you'll recognize Stanton as the one
with the long beard and sideburns with no mustache and looking like a stern schoolmaster. He was
a man of choleric disposition, frustrated by the fact that he was a lifetime asthma sufferer and had
to control his temper for his own good.
Stanton was born in 1814 in Ohio and went to Kenyon College and then clerked until he became a lawyer. His political affiliation was Democratic and he became quite a good criminal and civil attorney. He was anti-slavery and in his early career was a friend of Free Soil Democrat Salmon P.
Chase.
Stanton did so well he expanded his practice to cover western Pennsylvania. That in turn brought
him to the attention of the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Jeremiah Black who in
turn was a colleague of James Buchanan. When Buchanan became president in 1857, Black became Attorney General and brought
Stanton along and he represented the government in many matters.
At the end of 1860 Stanton succeeded Black as Attorney General for two months at the tail end of
the Buchanan administration as Black became Secretary of State for the same period.
Abraham Lincoln who did not have a great relationship with Stanton up to that point had a knack
for winning people over and gradually won Stanton over. Stanton came into the War Department
and put it on a basis for fighting a war. He was one of many who disapproved of General George
B. McClellan's dilatory tactics and was a firm supporter of Ulysses S. Grant. The graft and corruption that characterized that year of 1861 with Lincoln's first Secretary of War Simon Cameron
disappeared.
When Lincoln was assassinated Stanton became a defacto head of state when he organized the
manhunt for John Wilkes Booth and his curious crew of conspirators. It took a while for Andrew
Johnson to warm up to the presidency and Stanton filled the vacuum.
Johnson and Stanton did not remain friends for long. Stanton sympathized with the radical
Republicans and their view of Reconstruction, Johnson was not in sympathy with the freed blacks.
The clash was a bitter one. Congress passed something called the Tenure of Office Act where the
Congress had to approve of the dismissal of federal appointments as well the hiring.
Johnson sought to dismiss Stanton and thus began the battle of Andrew Johnson's impeachment.
In the end Stanton did give up the office with only a few months remaining in Johnson's term.
His friend Ulysses S. Grant appointed him to the Supreme Court, but after the Senate ratified him,
Stanton died after a bad asthma attack.
He was not a nice guy, but Stanton made an invaluable contribution to the northern victory. And
Abraham Lincoln would be the first to admit it.
the beginning of 1862. Looking at a group picture of the Cabinet you'll recognize Stanton as the one
with the long beard and sideburns with no mustache and looking like a stern schoolmaster. He was
a man of choleric disposition, frustrated by the fact that he was a lifetime asthma sufferer and had
to control his temper for his own good.
Stanton was born in 1814 in Ohio and went to Kenyon College and then clerked until he became a lawyer. His political affiliation was Democratic and he became quite a good criminal and civil attorney. He was anti-slavery and in his early career was a friend of Free Soil Democrat Salmon P.
Chase.
Stanton did so well he expanded his practice to cover western Pennsylvania. That in turn brought
him to the attention of the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Jeremiah Black who in
turn was a colleague of James Buchanan. When Buchanan became president in 1857, Black became Attorney General and brought
Stanton along and he represented the government in many matters.
At the end of 1860 Stanton succeeded Black as Attorney General for two months at the tail end of
the Buchanan administration as Black became Secretary of State for the same period.
Abraham Lincoln who did not have a great relationship with Stanton up to that point had a knack
for winning people over and gradually won Stanton over. Stanton came into the War Department
and put it on a basis for fighting a war. He was one of many who disapproved of General George
B. McClellan's dilatory tactics and was a firm supporter of Ulysses S. Grant. The graft and corruption that characterized that year of 1861 with Lincoln's first Secretary of War Simon Cameron
disappeared.
When Lincoln was assassinated Stanton became a defacto head of state when he organized the
manhunt for John Wilkes Booth and his curious crew of conspirators. It took a while for Andrew
Johnson to warm up to the presidency and Stanton filled the vacuum.
Johnson and Stanton did not remain friends for long. Stanton sympathized with the radical
Republicans and their view of Reconstruction, Johnson was not in sympathy with the freed blacks.
The clash was a bitter one. Congress passed something called the Tenure of Office Act where the
Congress had to approve of the dismissal of federal appointments as well the hiring.
Johnson sought to dismiss Stanton and thus began the battle of Andrew Johnson's impeachment.
In the end Stanton did give up the office with only a few months remaining in Johnson's term.
His friend Ulysses S. Grant appointed him to the Supreme Court, but after the Senate ratified him,
Stanton died after a bad asthma attack.
He was not a nice guy, but Stanton made an invaluable contribution to the northern victory. And
Abraham Lincoln would be the first to admit it.
July 21, 2018
Very well researched and written bio of Lincoln's Secretary of War. Stanton was a Buchanan Democrat who switched parties and became an ardent ally of Lincoln and worked tirelessly to win the war, free all the slaves and to make sure that all had the right to vote, the ability to vote and the freedom to vote. After the death of Lincoln and the rise of Andrew Johnson, Stanton had to fight very hard to make sure this happened and that Johnson did not undo all that was fought for. An unsung American hero and an important leader for the rights of all.
March 13, 2009
This was read long ago, but I do remember that it provided a unique perspective by General Benjamin Thomas - as a military man. He was complimentary of Lincoln and Lincoln's grasp of overall strategy. The book copy I have was published in 1962. I would have been living in Canada at the time.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews