Stanton, Edwin McMasters 1814-69
US lawyer and politician

Born in Steubenville, Ohio, he rose to legal prominence when he successfully opposed the plan for bridging the Ohio River at Wheeling on the grounds of interference with navigation. He was appointed US Attorney General by President James Buchanan (1860), then became Secretary of War under Abraham Lincoln (1862), continuing in that post under Andrew Johnson. Outspoken and abrasive, he alienated Johnson by taking sides against him on the issue of Reconstruction and was suspended by the President (1867) but was reinstated by the Senate. When Johnson's impeachment failed, Stanton resigned (1868). He was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ulysses S Grant (1869), but died four days after his confirmation.