Edward
Bates was born in Goochland County, Virginia, on 4th September, 1793.
As a young man he moved to Missouri where he studied law. Bates became
a lawyer in St. Louis and in 1826 was
elected to the House of Representatives.
A member of the Whig Party, Bates joined
the newly created Republican Party
in 1856. Bates, who freed his own slaves, became involved in the campaign
against slavery. He also opposed the
Kansas-Nebraska bill.
In 1860 Bates was one of those nominated to become the presidential
candidate of the Republican Party.
However, at the National Convention, when it was clear that Bates
could not win, he gave his full support to Abraham
Lincoln. He was rewarded by being appointed as Attorney General.
Bates was a successful attorney general and was seen as a moderate
in Lincoln's cabinet. He opposed military conflict with the Confederacy
claiming that a civil war "would soon become a social war, the
horrors of which need not be dwelt upon." During the American
Civil War Bates opposed the recruitment of black
regiments and complained about the growing influence of the Radical
Republications in the government.
Lincoln and Bates disagreed about how the Confederacy should be treated
after the war. Whereas Lincoln favoured Reconstruction,
Bates believed in granting a universal amnesty and the restoration
of property rights. Unable to convince Lincoln of this policy, he
resigned from office in November, 1864.
Bates hoped to be appointed at Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court but instead this post went to Salmon
P. Chase. After Lincoln's assassination, the former attorney general
attacked the decision of Edwin M. Stanton
and James Speed to try the alleged conspirators
by a military commission. Edward Bates died in St.
Louis on 25th March, 1869.
Available from Amazon Books
(order below)
