Edwin Stanton

Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814 – December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who was the 27th United States secretary of war. Serving under President Abraham Lincoln during most of the American Civil War, Stanton remained as the secretary of war under President Andrew Johnson during the first years of the Reconstruction Era. Stanton was a prominent attorney in eastern Ohio and Pittsburgh before serving as the United States attorney general in the final months of President James Buchanan's term. His management of the war department during the Civil War helped organize the massive military resources of the North and guide the Union to victory. However, he was criticized by many Union generals, who perceived Stanton as overcautious and a micromanager. After the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Stanton organized the manhunt for Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Stanton opposed the lenient policies of Johnson towards the former Confederate States, resulting in Johnson suspending Stanton in 1867. The Radical Republicans reinstated Stanton the following year and the attempt ultimately led to the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in the House of Representatives. Stanton returned to practicing law after he retired as secretary, and in 1869, he was nominated as an associate justice of the Supreme Court by Johnson's successor, Ulysses S. Grant. He died four days after his nomination was confirmed by the Senate and remains the only confirmed nominee to accept but die before serving on the Court.

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