Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron | |
|---|---|
Cameron, c. 1860–1870 | |
| United States Senator from Pennsylvania | |
| In office March 4, 1867 – March 12, 1877 | |
| Preceded by | Edgar Cowan |
| Succeeded by | J. Donald Cameron |
| In office March 4, 1857 – March 4, 1861 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Brodhead |
| Succeeded by | David Wilmot |
| In office March 13, 1845 – March 3, 1849 | |
| Preceded by | James Buchanan |
| Succeeded by | James Cooper |
| Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee | |
| In office March 10, 1871 – March 12, 1877 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Sumner |
| Succeeded by | Hannibal Hamlin |
| 26th United States Secretary of War | |
| In office March 5, 1861 – January 14, 1862 | |
| President | Abraham Lincoln |
| Preceded by | Joseph Holt |
| Succeeded by | Edwin Stanton |
| United States Minister to Russia | |
| In office January 17, 1862 – February 23, 1863 | |
| President | Abraham Lincoln |
| Preceded by | Cassius Marcellus Clay |
| Succeeded by | Cassius Marcellus Clay |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 8, 1799 Maytown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | June 26, 1889 (aged 90) Maytown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Resting place | Harrisburg Cemetery |
| Party | Democratic (before 1849) American (1849–1856) Republican (1856–1877) |
| Spouse |
Margaret Brua (m. 1822–1874) |
| Children | 10, including J. Donald |
| Signature | |
Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799 – June 26, 1889) was an American businessman and politician who was four times elected senator from Pennsylvania, and whose involvement in politics spanned over half a century. He served as United States secretary of war under President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War.
A native of Maytown, Pennsylvania, Cameron made a fortune in railways, canals, and banking. Initially a supporter of James Buchanan, whom he succeeded in the Senate when Buchanan became Secretary of State in 1845, Cameron broke with Buchanan and the Democratic Party by the 1850s. An opponent of slavery, Cameron briefly joined the Know Nothing Party before switching to the Republicans in 1856. He won election to another term in the Senate in 1857 and provided pivotal support to Lincoln at the 1860 Republican National Convention.
Lincoln appointed Cameron as his first Secretary of War. Cameron's wartime tenure was marked by allegations of corruption and lax management, and he was demoted to minister to Russia in January 1862. He remained there only briefly, and returned to the United States. There, he rebuilt his political machine in Pennsylvania, securing a third term in the Senate in 1867. After ten years in his third stretch in office, he resigned, arranging the election of his son, J. Donald Cameron, in his place. Cameron lived to the age of 90; his machine survived him by several decades, dominating Pennsylvania politics until the 1920s.