Civil War Quiz: What Do You Know About Edwin M. Stanton?

Q#1 – Edwin McMasters Stanton was born to David and Lucy Stanton on December 19, 1814. In which town was Stanton born?

Q#2 – Edwin’s early formal education included attending a private school and a seminary located behind the Stanton family’s residence. What was the name of this seminary?

Q#3 – At the age of ten, what medical condition began to afflict Stanton, sometimes causing convulsions that haunted him for life?

Q#4 – Stanton began his college studies at Kenyon College, which was affiliated with the Episcopal Church. What was the name of the society Stanton was involved in at the college?

Q#5 – What action by President Andrew Jackson in 1832 led Stanton to join the Democratic Party?

Q#6 – Stanton studied law and was admitted to practice in 1835 at a prominent law firm in Cadiz, Ohio. In what type of legal work did Stanton specialize?

Q#7 – What was the cause of death of Stanton’s wife, Mary Ann Lamson Stanton, in March 1844?

Q#8 – Why did Stanton gain national attention in a courtroom case where he successfully defended Caleb J. McNulty, a Democrat who was dismissed from his clerkship in the United States House of Representatives by unanimous vote and charged with embezzlement after thousands of dollars of the House’s funds went missing?

Q#9 – Daniel Sickles was charged with the murder of Philip Barton Key, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and son of Francis Scott Key, due to Key’s romantic affair with Sickles’ wife, Teresa Bagioli Sickles. Stanton, part of Sickles’ defense team, had Sickles plead temporary insanity. In his closing arguments, what did Stanton tell the jury that was instrumental in securing Sickles’ acquittal?

Q#10 – In 1860, what was Stanton’s first major political appointment?

Q#11 – Who was President Lincoln’s Secretary of War before Stanton’s appointment?

Q#12 – What action did Stanton order in January 1861 that nearly prompted the United Kingdom and France to recognize and support the Confederacy?

Q#13 – After learning that Lincoln had been shot, what four significant actions did Stanton order?

Q#14 – At the beginning of Reconstruction, as Secretary of War, what were Stanton’s main objectives for the United States military?

Q#15 – How did Stanton’s role as Secretary of War contribute to President Andrew Johnson’s impeachment in 1868?