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In the Crucible: Leading beyond War and Assassination
J.P. Montalvan • March 18, 2024
"The Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things...
It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads."
— Shelby Foote, Author
photo courtesy of Apple
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Edwin was born in the small town of Steubenville, Ohio. His education started in Miss Randle’s kindergarten and was followed by Henry Orr’s seminary around the block. At 10, he entered George Buchanan’s nearby Latin school where he was called “an imperious and self-reliant young man.”
Edwin’s lifelong struggle with asthma might have contributed to his temper, but so could have the early death of his father and the deaths of his brother and two children.
And on the eve of achieving his life’s dream — nomination to the Supreme Court — Edwin Stanton’s chronic asthma caused his death in 1869.
I’m enjoying a new TV show — Monica Beletsky’s “Manhunt” miniseries. It chronicles the 12-day hunt for John Wilkes Booth as a true-crime detective thriller.
Based on the book “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer” by writer James L. Swanson, the show goes well beyond getting the bad guy, portraying the American tragedy about a divided nation in the wake of the U.S. Civil War. It’s also the story of Edwin Stanton — husband, father, attorney, Attorney General and Secretary of War — at the one of our country’s most turbulent times.
As I watch the story unfold and dive deeper into the life of Edwin Stanton, I’m thinking that we can learn a lot about leadership by studying the events during Stanton’s life…
Be ready to play defense.
The United States wasn’t prepared to protect a president in 1865. Almost prophetically, President Abraham Lincoln established the Secret Service the same day he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., by John Wilkes Booth. However, it would take another 36 years and the assassination of two more Presidents — James Garfield and William McKinley — before Congress added protection of the President to the list of duties performed by the Secret Service.
Be ready to grow into new roles.
Edwin wasn’t born a leader. He took up the law in his early adulthood and grew into his leadership. He was a staunch Democrat but grew steadily more outspoken in his opposition to slavery. As Attorney General, he opposed the abandonment of Fort Sumter in the Charleston, South Carolina, harbor by Union forces. During the Civil War, he grew to insist on tighter management of the War department, gave little to people who sought favors, and continually pushed for a more aggressive prosecution of the war. He agreed to continue in his post under President Andrew Johnson and skillfully managed the difficult demobilization of Union and Confederate forces at the end of the war.
Be ready to lead when others can’t — or won’t.
While the North mourned Lincoln’s death and the South watched and waited, Stanton held the nation together. Shot on Good Friday, Lincoln was mourned in churches across the North on Easter Sunday as a Christ-like savior who died for his nation’s sins, and during Passover-week Sabbath services Lincoln was compared to the Hebrew liberator Moses who had freed his people and led them to the Promised Land only to die before he could see it himself. In the Confederacy, the sentiment was more this: “Old Abe has gone to answer before the bar of God for the innocent blood which he has permitted to be shed, and his efforts to enslave a free people” — meaning Southern whites.
And while others mourned and watched, Edwin played the leading role in the investigation and trial of the conspirators. For a short time, while President Johnson was establishing his presidency, Stanton virtually directed the running of the U.S. government in the stricken capital.
While Stanton took on an ever increasing leadership role, he hardly had an easy road. He was soon fighting with President Johnson over the nature of Reconstruction policy toward the defeated South. He used his position to foster stricter Reconstruction measures than the president desired. The situation finally became so untenable that Johnson tried to remove Stanton from office. Johnson’s persistence resulted in his impeachment by the House of Representatives but fell one short of conviction in the Senate.
Ultimately, Johnson avoiding removal from office meant Edwin had to resign his cabinet position and he returned to private law practice. Later, Stanton was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Ulysses S. Grant. And unfortunately, he died four days later from the asthma that challenged him throughout his life.
A lot of what we can watch on TV today doesn’t leave us with much to think about beyond drama, whether fictional or “real life," while we have war and assassination happening in our world today. And yet “Manhunt” and its portrayal of Stanton's firm commitment to upholding the not only his principles but the Union's principles is something you might consider watching as you think about how to lean into the challenges in your life.
How can we play defense, grow and be ready to lead when we’re called upon?
That’s exactly why I share my thoughts with you here from time to time. It’s in thinking about these questions that we can find our best leader selves.
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Happy Hump Day!
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Upon entering the cozy pub, we were greeted incredibly warmly. Our waiter was a young man who attended to us graciously through our meal, and when he had to leave was replaced by an older waiter. The older waiter had a twinkle in his eye, as they say, and he immediately struck a chord with us. As our main meal switched to delicious desserts, he engaged us in some lively conversation and took a genuine interest in our newborn daughter in the stroller by our table. His genuine care and enthusiasm was really something.
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