Lincoln & Stanton

[Craig Hipkins]

(09-23-2012 03:23 PM)JMadonna Wrote:  

(09-22-2012 10:50 PM)Craig Hipkins Wrote:  It has always boggled my mind why Lincoln chose Stanton to be his Secretary of War after Cameron left. I believe that Lincoln's first choice was Joseph Holt, but he was pressured into picking Stanton. I wonder if Seward had anything to do with this?

Craig

Most definitely Seward recommended Stanton highly. While working in the Buchanan administration as AG, Stanton not only kept Buchanan from caving but also related the ongoing cabinet discussions to Seward so that he could apply pressure from the congress.

When Seward proposed impeaching Buchanan if he surrendered Fort Sumter it was because of info passed from Stanton.

Finding a loyal and competent Union man for Secretary of War after the incompetence of Floyd and Cameron was a critical task and Stanton proved to be a godsend for Lincoln.

Jerry, This makes good sense. I believe that Buchanan wanted only to make it back to Pennsylvania in one piece. I guess the appointment of Stanton as War Secretery by Lincoln showed how much he valued Seward's opinion.

Craig

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(09-23-2012 05:00 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  Craig, this does not answer your question. But, for some reason, what sticks in my mind are Stanton's strong emotions concerning death. I have a book entitled "Lincoln's War Cabinet" by Burton J. Hendrick, and the author devotes an entire page to the topic. Hendrick states, "When his (Stanton's) emotions were deeply stirred he could act almost as a madman. At certain crises, indeed, doubts of his sanity were widespread."

Here are three examples from Hendrick's book:

(1) In his early days Stanton developed a semi-romantic relationship with the daughter of his landlady. The girl's name was Anna Howard. She died suddenly from cholera and was buried quickly. Stanton was horrified and refused to believe it. He refused to believe she was dead and thought she was buried alive. He rushed to the graveyard and exhumed the body. He convinced himself by personal inspection that the girl was indeed dead.

(2) The death of his first child, a baby girl, so affected him that after she had been buried for a time, he had her disinterred, enclosed in a metal casket, and placed on the mantelpiece in his bedroom where it was kept for several years.

(3) After his first wife's death, the Supreme Court had to suspend its sessions for a month. Stanton was arguing several cases before the court. But the court was suspended because Stanton would not leave his dead wife's grave. Every night he would put her nightcap and gown on her bed and sit beside them weeping for hours.

Roger, I remember reading about Stanton's exhumation of his daughter and found it to be quite morbid. However, after further reflection I realized that I was looking through a 21st century perspective. People in the 19th century had a sort of resigned attitude toward death. I don't mean to say that they were not devestated when a loved one died, but it was rare in that day and age to live to a ripe old age as we expect to do today with modern medicine and such. My Great-Great-Great grandparents in the 1850s, in England, lost 5 children within a 3 year span. Only three lived to be adults. They must have been strong-willed to survive into their 70s. Another thing that was common in the 19th century that we would find appalling today was having photographs taken of dead loved ones.