Simon Cameron

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.

Simon Cameron was born in Maytown, Pennsylvania, on March 8, 1799, the third of eight children of Charles Cameron and his wife Martha Pfautz Cameron. Charles Cameron's father, named Simon, had emigrated from Scotland in 1766 to the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania. A farmer, he continued his trade in Lancaster County and fought with the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. Martha Cameron was the granddaughter of Hans Michel Pfoutz, one of the first Palatine Germans to emigrate to the Thirteen Colonies.

Charles Cameron was a tailor and tavern keeper in Maytown, but was less than successful in those occupations. In 1808, he moved from Lancaster County north to Sunbury, in Northumberland County, but within two years was living in Lewisburg with his wife, but without his children. He died in January 1811, and his children then boarded with other families. Simon was sent to live with the family of Dr. Peter Grahl, a physician in Sunbury. The Grahls were childless and treated him like their son, and he expanded his rudimentary education in the libraries of Dr. Grahl and his neighbors. In Sunbury, he met and got to know Lorenzo Da Ponte, a librettist for Mozart and other composers. In December 1813, Simon visited Philadelphia with him.

Soon after his 17th birthday, Cameron apprenticed himself as a printer to Andrew Kennedy, publisher of the Sunbury and Northumberland Gazette and Republican Advertiser. In 1817, Kennedy, who had suffered financial troubles, released Cameron from his indentures, and he went to Harrisburg, where he indentured himself to James Peacock, publisher of the Pennsylvania Republican, the leading Pennsylvania newspaper outside of Philadelphia; after two years' apprenticeship, Cameron was made the newspaper's assistant editor.

Involvement with a newspaper in Harrisburg, the state capital, meant involvement in Pennsylvania politics; in 1842, Cameron said he had attended almost every session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the state legislature, since 1817. He met Samuel D. Ingham, the Secretary of the Commonwealth and proprietor of the Doylestown Messenger. Following the departure of its editor, he hired Cameron as his replacement in January 1821. Cameron held this position throughout the year, but the newspaper was not profitable and merged with another local paper, costing Cameron his job.

Cameron next worked as a compositor for the Congressional Globe, a periodical that reported on the Congress. Although it paid little, the work was ideal for a young man interested in politics, allowing him to build contacts with national political figures, including U.S. President James Monroe and U.S. Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. In 1822, Cameron returned to Harrisburg as a partner in the Pennsylvania Intelligencer. He then purchased the Republican and merged it with the Intelligencer, using a loan from an uncle. These enterprises gave Cameron enough security that he felt he could marry; on October 16, 1822, he married Margaret Brua, with whom he had ten children, six of whom reached adulthood.

In 1823, Cameron's friend John Andrew Shulze was elected Pennsylvania governor, and Cameron spent several years in the profitable post of State Printer. In 1829, Shulze appointed him Adjutant-General of Pennsylvania. His brief term in this position gained him the rank, which he used as a title throughout his life, of general. With his appointment, Cameron, who had sold his stake in the Intelligencer and bought one in the Pennsylvania Reporter and Democratic Herald, divested himself of his interest in the printing trade and ceased to be an active journalist, though he ensured his state contracts would be transferred to his brother James. Shulze also awarded Simon Cameron contracts for the construction of canals in Pennsylvania. Cameron, who founded the Bank of Middletown, became wealthy through banking, canals and railroads.

A delegate from Dauphin County to the Harrisburg State Convention of the Democratic-Republicans in 1824, Cameron was slow to support the presidential candidacy of General Andrew Jackson in the 1824 election, despite Jackson's broad support in Pennsylvania, and only did so because he supported Calhoun for vice president. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams was elected and made Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky his successor at the State Department. In that capacity, Clay was responsible for selecting three printers in each state to print the laws and resolutions of Congress, and since Cameron was not known as an ardent Jacksonian, his firm became one of the official printers. Cameron corresponded extensively with Clay, offering him political advice on Pennsylvania affairs. Adams advocated internal improvements to the nation's transportation infrastructure, financed by high tariffs, policies Cameron supported. By the time the administration lost control of Congress in 1827, Cameron began to gravitate away from Adams and towards Jackson. In doing so, Cameron followed a new political ally, Pennsylvania Congressman James Buchanan. His support for Jackson in his successful run for the presidency in 1828 was only lukewarm.

In drafts Lincoln made of his cabinet following his election to the presidency, Cameron was omitted. Given the divisions between Cameron and Curtin supporters in Pennsylvania, Lincoln planned to exclude Cameron from the cabinet, hoping both factions would accept Dayton, like Cameron a strong protectionist. Within days, though, Lincoln began receiving many letters urging him to make Cameron Secretary of the Treasury.

Lincoln may still have been unaware of the understanding made at the convention; his advisor, Leonard Swett, wrote to Cameron on November 27, 1860, that Lincoln was not bound by any such bargain. Swett sent a copy to the president-elect, who did nothing initially, but asked Weed for his view on Cameron on December 20. Cameron had reneged on his support for Seward, Weed's candidate, and Weed advised excluding Cameron in favor of a trustworthy Southerner. Cameron would not visit Lincoln's hometown of Springfield without an invitation, and, after sending Swett to Pennsylvania to confer with him, Lincoln felt compelled to invite Cameron, who arrived on December 30, 1860. Others urged Lincoln to leave Cameron out of the cabinet, citing the Winnebago affair or the allegations of bribery in his elections to the Senate; former Representative George N. Eckert wrote, "I wish to say to you that under no circumstances or contingency will it answer to even dream of putting Simon Cameron in the Cabinet. He is corrupt beyond belief. He is rich by plunder—and can not be trusted any where."

Upon his arrival in Springfield, Cameron met with Lincoln for several hours, first at the president-elect's law office and then at the senator's hotel. Both men were personable in nature, and the meetings were enjoyable; at their conclusion, Lincoln offered Cameron a place in the cabinet, either as Secretary of the Treasury or Secretary of War. At Cameron's request, Lincoln gave him the offer in writing, which he regretted soon thereafter, as no sooner had Cameron left town than a fresh flood of anti-Cameron communications came to him. Lincoln met with Alexander McClure, a leader of the Curtin faction. The president-elect wrote to withdraw the offer, asking Cameron to keep it confidential, unless he chose to publicly decline, in which case he had no objection to the offer being made public. One reason for Lincoln's about-face was that he had asked Cameron to keep the offer confidential, which he had not done. Cameron complained to Lincoln's associates about the president-elect's conduct, but did and said nothing publicly, and in fact arranged for Lincoln and his family to use a luxurious Pennsylvania Railroad car for the journey to Washington.

In early January, after meeting with Chase, whom he wanted in the cabinet, Lincoln told two of his advisors, "I am in a quandary. Pennsylvania is entitled to a cabinet office. [I have received] hundreds of letters, and the cry is 'Cameron, Cameron!' ... The Pennsylvania people say: 'If you leave out Cameron you disgrace him.'" Lincoln decided not to offer Cameron the Treasury post, but to hold out the possibility of another appointment. On January 13, Lincoln sent Cameron a letter stating he meant no offense by the previous letter, and stating that he had no doubt Cameron would perform the duties of a cabinet secretary "ably and faithfully". Cameron continued to press Lincoln by displaying the December 31 letter offering a post without showing the January 3 one rescinding the offer. With much of Lincoln's cabinet undetermined by the end of January, Herndon wrote, "Lincoln is in a fix. Cameron's appointment ... bothers him. If Lincoln do[es] appoint Cameron, he gets a fight on his hands, and if he do[es] not he gets a quarrel deep-abiding, & lasting ... Poor Lincoln! God help him!"

At the behest of Cameron supporters Lincoln met with, the president-elect offered another meeting in Springfield, but Cameron refused, and the matter was still unresolved when Lincoln left for Washington, D.C. When the train passed through Pittsburgh, Lincoln was met with a group of Cameron supporters who insisted he be appointed to the cabinet. In Philadelphia, other Cameron backers buttonholed Lincoln, both in the lobby of his hotel and at his room. Tired of this, he hinted he might keep holdovers from the Buchanan cabinet rather than appoint Cameron.

Lincoln's nomination of Cameron to be Minister to Russia was confirmed by the Senate on January 14, 1862, 28–14, after a good deal of work by the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, and over the opposition of Lyman Trumbull of Illinois. Cameron had no great desire to go to Russia, and tried to get a diplomatic post for his successor in the Senate, Wilmot, so he could regain the seat for himself, but nothing came of the idea. On May 7, 1862, Cameron, his wife Margaret Cameron, two of their children, his private secretary, and the secretary of the legation, Bayard Taylor, departed New York aboard the ship Persia. Once in Europe, Cameron took a circuitous route through Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, allowing much time for sightseeing and receptions, and did not arrive in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg until June 15. He was presented to Alexander II by the departing minister, Cassius M. Clay, on June 25.

Cameron found himself with time on his hands in St. Petersburg. He disliked the city and its climate, and bilateral relations remained good after quiet US support for the Russians during the Crimean War. Secretary of State Seward had instructed Clay to ensure that he left Cameron with little to do. Clay was leaving to take up a generalship in the Union Army, but was already reconsidering and had written to Lincoln that Cameron would not remain long, and asking for his position back.

That was the case; Cameron was eager to salvage his political career and rebut the allegations of mismanagement that had been made against him. He requested a furlough from Seward. Though this was initially denied, he left anyway in September, citing his desire to accompany Margaret Cameron, who he stated was in poor health and unable to bear the upcoming Russian winter. Seward retroactively ratified this departure, and the Camerons returned home in early November. Taylor was left in charge; Cameron promised to try to make him his successor as minister, but when Cameron formally resigned on February 23, 1863, Lincoln reappointed Clay.

Even before he resigned as minister to Russia, Cameron was a candidate in the January 1863 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania. Wilmot, the incumbent, was initially the Republican frontrunner for the seat, but was believed to have no chance of overcoming the Democratic one-seat majority in the General Assembly. Cameron's campaign was boosted by Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, making Cameron appear to have led the way on the issue of freeing and arming the rebels' slaves. Wrote Cameron sarcastically, "well hurrah for Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation with the use of Black troops after the War Minister was deposed for the recommendation! Hurrah! Hurrah!"

Despite this, Cameron was unable to gain any Democratic votes in the General Assembly; that party, remembering the events of 1845 and 1857, stationed armed men in the state capitol. Governor Curtin refused to intervene, and no Democrat was willing to chance the consequences of voting for Cameron. Democrat Charles Buckalew was elected with 67 votes to 65 for Cameron and 1 for William D. Kelley. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives issued a report urging the prosecution of Cameron for bribery, but the factions of the Republican Party united against this and no charges were brought.

Immediately, Cameron started to plan for Pennsylvania's next Senate election, in 1867. He began rebuilding his personal political machine, composed of his many friends and supporters from across Pennsylvania, which had fallen into disrepair due to his absence from the state. Curtin's health had deteriorated as governor; Cameron tried to deny him renomination or else sideline him by getting him a diplomatic post, a plan to which Lincoln was agreeable. The plot failed; there was considerable popular support for a second Curtin term, and many Republicans felt only Curtin could win. The governor gained easy renomination and won reelection; Cameron led several election meetings for him.

Cameron continued to mend fences with Lincoln, helping the president with his re-election by getting the Republican members of the legislature to issue a letter to the president urging him to seek a second term—Cameron had done this for Jackson thirty years previously. He also obtained a pro-Lincoln delegation to the 1864 National Union National Convention, which nominated Lincoln, and arranged support for Andrew Johnson, the military governor of Tennessee, whom Lincoln wanted as running mate. Cameron campaigned for Lincoln in the fall, and the re-elected president's gratitude translated into participation in political patronage, which helped Cameron politically by allowing him to reward supporters with federal jobs in a way that Curtin could not.

Lincoln's assassination in 1865 deprived Cameron of patronage, advantaging Curtin, who also wanted the Senate seat, as did the governor's capture of important state party offices. The battle continued through 1866, both candidates working to get supporters nominated for the legislature. The increasing battle over Reconstruction between the Republicans and the new president, Johnson, forced them at times to work together to defeat pro-Johnson candidates. The October 1866 legislative elections gave the Republicans a majority of over thirty in the General Assembly, assuring that the new senator would be a Republican, though who it would be was still uncertain. Both Cameron and Curtin worked to gain the seat, as did others considered likely to be elected only if there was a deadlock, such as Congressman Thaddeus Stevens and former speaker Grow.

Cameron was sworn in for a third term in the Senate on March 4, 1867, a session called nine months early by a law designed to ensure that Johnson would not control Reconstruction. Cameron was among those supporting the legislation pressed by the radicals, stating he did not see how the South could expect anything better after they had tried to destroy the Union. When, in 1868, the battle between president and Congress culminated with the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, Cameron was a strong supporter of removing Johnson from office, and was twice ruled out of order by the presiding officer in the trial, his old cabinet colleague, Chase, now chief justice.

The Curtin faction remained a threat; there had been some public dismay at the selection of Cameron over the popular wartime governor. The 1868 state party convention denied Cameron the position of chair of the Pennsylvania delegation to the 1868 Republican National Convention and bound the delegation to support Curtin for vice president; he did not win. Curtin's influence was curtailed when the new president, Republican Ulysses S. Grant, appointed him minister to Russia. Cameron was where ambitious young men in Pennsylvania, such as Matthew Quay, looked to for influence, and Curtin's influence in the mainstream Republican Party was destroyed when he supported the Liberal Republican Party and its presidential candidate, Horace Greeley, in 1872. Quay became increasingly prominent as a Cameron lieutenant; the senator also looked to promote his son Don at every opportunity.

Cameron at first had a rocky relationship with Grant; he could have vetoed the president's appointment of Curtin under senatorial courtesy, but stayed his hand. He did block that of Alexander L. Russell, a Curtinite, to be minister to Ecuador. This irritated Grant, and Secretary of State Hamilton Fish warned him, "there is no use in fighting Cameron", but relations were not healed until a mutual friend engineered a meeting during a presidential visit to Pennsylvania in August 1869. Grant was greatly impressed with Cameron. Thereafter, both Simon and Don Cameron were close to Grant, visiting at the White House and joining him on trips.

Cameron continued to advocate for African Americans. In 1870, he spoke in the debate over whether to seat Hiram Revels, the first black senator; the Democrats argued that Revels, a former slave, had not been a citizen until the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, and did not meet the requirement that senators have been citizens for nine years. The Senate seated Revels, with Cameron voting in favor; after Revels made his maiden speech, Cameron was first to congratulate him.

In 1870, Grant negotiated a treaty for the annexation of Santo Domingo (later known as the Dominican Republic). It was referred to the Foreign Relations Committee, led by Sumner, and unfavorably recommended. Cameron signed the report, but hedged his position and later voted for the treaty on the floor of the Senate, where it failed of ratification. Grant was enraged at Sumner, who had an independent streak, and insisted on his ouster as chair. This took place at the start of the 42nd Congress in March 1871, making Cameron the chair. There was some feeling that Cameron, a diplomat only briefly, was not qualified. As chair, Cameron was heavily involved in the Treaty of Washington, which resolved several differences with the British.

With the help of Quay and others, the Camerons continued to build a political machine which would endure in the state for decades. This consisted of an alliance between the local Republican organizations, manufacturers and the railroads. Cameron, having outlasted or simply outlived most of those who aided him early in his career, thrived by continuing to attract new adherents, such as Quay, often as loyal to him personally as to the Republican Party.

The 1872 elections were successful for Pennsylvania Republicans, re-electing Grant, electing a Republican governor, John F. Hartranft, and a Republican-majority legislature that was to fill Cameron's seat in the Senate. Quay, soon to be Hartranft's Secretary of the Commonwealth, successfully managed Cameron's re-election bid, turning back a bid by industrialist Charlemagne Tower for the Republican caucus endorsement, and Cameron won easily in the General Assembly. on January 22, 1873, with 76 votes to 50 for William A. Wallace and two scattered. One supporter marked the first time Cameron had won a Senate term without a bitter battle with, "Nothing can beat you. You are invincible." The Harrisburg Patriot called Cameron the "undisputed master in Pennsylvania".

With another six-year term secured, and by then well into his seventies, though in generally good health, Cameron left more and more work to Don Cameron and Quay, devoting time to travel. He began a series of annual visits to New Orleans, though after 1874, he visited without his wife Margaret, as she died that year.

In 1875, Cameron succeeded in getting the House of Representatives to rescind its censure of him from 1862. His major remaining ambition was to get a cabinet post for Don Cameron, that would give him sufficient national stature to allow him to succeed his father in the Senate when Simon was ready to retire. However, relations with Grant had grown strained again, and the president ignored hints from the senator and editorials in pro-Cameron newspapers. It was not until mid-1876 that Grant moved Secretary of War Alphonso Taft to become attorney general and appointed Don Cameron as his replacement.

Simon Cameron did not attend the 1876 Republican National Convention in Cincinnati, but Secretary of War Don Cameron led the Pennsylvania delegation, which was pledged to Governor Hartranft as favorite son, but was open for deals when Hartranft failed to show enough strength. Don Cameron offered Pennsylvania's votes to the manager of Senator James G. Blaine in exchange for a promise to appoint a Pennsylvanian to the cabinet. Blaine refused, and Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio won the nomination, with Pennsylvania providing the exact margin of victory.