By John F . Wasik
It ’ s hard to believe the kind of abuse Abraham Lincoln endured at times during his career . Before he was martyred and globally admired , he had a legion of vicious detractors , even those he knew before and during the war .
Edwin Stanton , who became Lincoln ’ s Secretary of War , was co-counsel on a patent infringement case in Cincinnati in 1857 . As was the case with numerous inventions in the 19th century , patents were often litigated by inventors for years after the patents were filed . Lincoln was asked to represent Cyrus McCormick , one of the inventors of the mechanized reaper , in an infringement case McCormick had filed against John Henry Manny , who had invented a reaper of his own . Also representing McCormick was the bullheaded Stanton , who was apparently incensed that Lincoln was even considered for the legal team , meeting in Cincinnati for the trial .
“ Where did that damned , long-armed creature come from and what can he expect to do in this case ?” Stanton reportedly asked , referring to Lincoln , who was humiliated , withdrawn and sidelined for the duration of the trial . Stanton likely knew little about Lincoln except that he was a “ Western ” lawyer . Had he known that Lincoln was an inventor himself and probably an admirer of McCormick and innovation in general , he may have changed his attitude .
Lincoln , though , put his reliable gauge of character and intellect above personal grudges when Salmon P . Chase and Secretary of State William Seward lobbied for Stanton , a Democrat at the time , to be added to the cabinet as Secretary of War , which he joined in 1862 . Stanton was hardly a fan of Lincoln when the war began . Before joining the cabinet in June 1861 , Stanton wrote that due to the “ painful imbecility ” of Lincoln , confederates “ would be in possession of Washington within 30 days .”
There was plenty of reason to believe that , given the general lack of martial mastery Lincoln ’ s commanders in Virginia exhibited in the first two years of the war . Yet Lincoln didn ’ t take it personally and was able to focus on Stanton ’ s intellectual and leadership abilities and set aside his caustic criticism .
Photograph of President Abraham Lincoln by Alexander Gardner , 1863 .
“ Political activity alone cannot make a man free . Back of the ballot , he must have property , industry , skill , economy , intelligence and character .” Booker T . Washington
Edwin Stanton
Salmon P . Chase
With the war raging , President Lincoln also needed an experienced ally who could transact some complex financial legislation . He needed a man with a flexible skill set and pliable personality , although his cabinet was composed of many men who thought themselves superior to the Illinois lawyer . The Civil War and demand for costly infrastructure begged for major financial innovations and men who understood how to navigate politics , legislation and national economic policy . Although the bloodshed of the war and future of slavery dominated national attention during the war years , Lincoln and Congress needed to pass the nation ’ s first income tax and “ greenback ” paper dollar system . Since the war was costing the Union some $ 2 million a day , Washington desperately needed a way to pay for it .
Lincoln respected both Seward and Chase , whom he would later trust with enormous responsibilities during the war . Chase , in particular , embodied a unique role in Lincoln ’ s inner circle , and grew to respect Lincoln . As Secretary of the Treasury , he needed to come up with mechanisms to finance the war , with growing threats by rebel forces crossing the Potomac and potentially attacking Washington .
Somehow Lincoln managed the complex dynamic of men who had once despised him — and competed with him — on the political frontier of the Republican party . Chase was an odd example , since he would switch parties multiple times in hopes of garnering political nominations . Settling in Cincinnati , the Dartmouth graduate practiced law in the Queen City . A fierce opponent of slavery , he wrote early and often about the peculiar institution , eventually joining the Ohio “ Free Soil ” party . Like Lincoln , he was vitriolic in opposition to Stephen A . Douglas ’ s Kansas-Nebraska Act and the expansion of slavery into the West . As governor of Ohio , he was an early progressive Republican , supporting public education , women ’ s rights and prison reform . What he shared with Lincoln , other than being an anti-slavery , Republican lawyer , was a relentlessly cruel trail of familial grief . He had lost three wives and three daughters . That doubtless may have accounted for his “ habitually grave ” personality .
While Chase wasn ’ t an ideal fit for Treasury Secretary , Lincoln knew he was a capable man devoted to his ideals . What he saw in Chase was a man who could act decisively with an embedded passion for fairness ; he was one of the few lawyers who had defended escaped slaves in local and federal courts . Like Stanton , though , Chase wasn ’ t completely loyal to Lincoln in a political sense . In 1864 , he resigned his post to run for the Republican nomination against Lincoln , who again , didn ’ t take it personally . When he lost , Lincoln surprisingly appointed Chase Chief
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