Existing comment:
Secretary of War Simon Cameron:
A former newspaperman who had grown rich through banks and railroads, Cameron had become the "Czar of Pennsylvania," a political boss whom many believed to be corrupt. It was said by his enemies that the only thing he wouldn't steal was a red hot stove. This ruled out any chance that Cameron could have the position he wanted -- Secretary of the Treasury.
In fact, Cameron never would have been in the Cabinet at all had Lincoln's convention managers not promised him a place in return for Pennsylvania's fifty delegates. "How can I justify my title of Honest Old Abe with the appointment of a man like Cameron?" Lincoln supposedly asked a friend. In the end, political necessity trumped ethical concerns. But not for long -- Cameron's incompetence at the War Department led to his replacement a year later by the far more capable Edwin Stanton. |