Amiable Scoundrel
Paul Kahan talked about his book Amiable Scoundrel: Simon Cameron, Lincoln’s Scandalous Secretary of War, in which he looks at why Simon Cameron is considered to be one Pennsylvania’s most prominent political figures of the 19th century. Simon Cameron served as Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and was a founder of the Republican Party.
Description
Paul Kahan talked about his book Amiable Scoundrel: Simon Cameron, Lincoln’s Scandalous Secretary of War, in which he looks at why Simon Cameron is considered to be one Pennsylvania’s most prominent political figures of the 19th century. Simon Cameron served as Secretary of War under President Abraham Lincoln, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and was a founder of the Republican Party.
Bell Ringer Assignment
- Who is Simon Cameron? What makes him less popular than other historical figures?
- What events took place in the late 1830s that damaged Cameron's reputation?
- How did Cameron's Bank of Middletown impact his political career?
- What is the relationship between state political power and national political identity? Explain how both of these terms helped Cameron secure a seat in Lincoln's cabinet.
Participants
Vocabulary
- Bank Of Middletown
- James Buchanan
- James K. Polk
- Martin Van Buren
- President Abraham Lincoln
- Secretary Of War
- Simon Cameron
- Thaddeus Stevens