Lincoln's Autocrat: The Life of Edwin Stanton

Civil War scholar Marvel (Tarnished Victory) writes definitively of Edwin M. Stanton (1814–69), a member of President Abraham Lincoln's cabinet and his secretary of war from 1862 to 1868. This book supplants the work of Benjamin Thomas and Harold Hyman, whose Stanton (1962) has served as the standard for more than 50 years. Marvel contends that that work contains many flaws of fact and interpretation that led to a generous view of Stanton's administrative contributions. Here the author offers a thorough alternative view, describing Stanton as protecting personal interests—sometimes at the expense of others—including the presidents who depended on him during crucial years before, during, and after the Civil War. Marvel pays relatively little attention to Stanton's early years except to reveal qualities that intensified as he became a prominent lawyer who arrived in Washington during the tumultuous late 1850s, argued cases before the Supreme Court, and eventually became attorney general in the final months of the Buchanan administration. His considerable manipulative skills as Lincoln's secretary of war helped achieve battle aims but also allowed self-preservation during frequent administrative struggles. These abilities served him well during Reconstruction when he became the focus of difficulties between the Congressional Republicans and President Andrew Johnson.