071 - Edwin McMasters Stanton: Lincoln's "Unloved" Secretary Of War

About this episode: 

When exercising power, the 16th President’s stocky and sphinxlike Secretary of War could demonstrate a Jekyll and Hyde personality. Personally honest, he could be unforgiving and given to histrionics when he thought them necessary. And again, when required, warm hearted, selfless and patriotic. In charge of the Union’s land-based operations, he made tough decisions and did so with little regard for those affected by those decisions. His mission was to win the war and he pursued that purpose with relentless fury. In doing so, far too many simply remembered him as the “unloved Secretary of War”. In the pantheon that was Abraham Lincoln’s Cabinet, this is the story of his Mars. This is the story of Edwin McMasters Stanton.   

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Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:

Salmon P. Chase

Daniel Sickles

Simon Cameron

William Seward

Lorenzo Thomas

Manton Marble

Additional Resources:

Lincoln's Autocrat: The Life of Edwin Stanton by William Marvel

Stanton: Lincoln's War Secretary by Walter Stahr

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*Title Image by The McMahan Photo Archive/RMP Archive/Mathew Brady / The Brady Studio

Producer: Dan Irving