Who were the members of Abraham Lincoln's cabinet?

Answer 1

Lincoln's Cabinet, termed a "Team of Rivals" by historian Doris Kearnes Goodwin, was full of men of different parties. His original Cabinet consisted of: William Henry Seward as Secretary of State, Salmon P. Chase as Secretary of the Treasury, Simon Cameron as Secretary of War, Gideon Welles as Secretary of the Navy, Caleb B. Smith as Secretary of the Interior, Edward Bates as Attorney General, and Montgomery Blair as Postmaster General.

Ironically, of the this group, the only three Republicans (which was Lincoln's party) were the three men who ran against Lincoln for the Republican nomination. These were Seward, Chase, and Bates.

The first of the original Cabinet to go was Simon Cameron, who was strong-armed into resigning because of the corruption he brought to the War Department. He was replaced by Democrat Edwin M. Stanton.

Then Smith left to become a judge and was replaced by Assistant Secretary of the Interior, John P. Usher.

In 1864, Chase resigned and was replaced by William Fessenden as Secretary of the Treasury. Then, when Lincoln was reelected, Fessenden left and was replaced by Hugh McCulluch.

Blair also resigned in 1864, and was replaced as Postmaster General by William Dennison.

Bates left when Lincoln was reelected, and he was replaced by James Speed (who happened to be the brother of one of Lincoln's best friends, Joshua Speed).

By the time of the unfortunate end of Lincoln's Administration, the only two original Cabinet members that remained were William Henry Seward and Gideon Welles.