page_title: Presidency of Abraham Lincoln
section_title: Lincoln's cabinet
hierarchical_section_title: Presidency of Abraham Lincoln / Lincoln administration / Lincoln's cabinet
caption_attribution_description: English: Oval-framed portrait of President of the United States Abraham Lincoln surrounded by oval-framed portraits of his cabinet
context_page_description: The presidency of Abraham Lincoln began when he took office as the 16th President of the United States on March 4, 1861. It ended with his death on April 15, 1865. During his presidency he claimed more prerogatives than any other president had done before him. As a result, the small and relatively limited powers of the president grew enormously during his time in office. When Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election, he did it without the support of any of the Southern states. Since the 1830s, Southern states had talked about secession, but it became a serious issue in 1860. Between the election and Lincoln's Inauguration in March of 1861, seven states had seceded from the Union. They formed the Confederate States of America. When Confederates attacked Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861 and captured it the next day, this started the American Civil War. While having little previous military experience, Lincoln still managed to stand out as a great war president. In 1863, his Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves in Southern states. It led directly to the abolition of slavery in the United States.
context_section_description: Lincoln's cabinet was unique in American history. It included all of his major rivals for the 1860 Republican nomination. As part of the political negotiations leading up to the nomination, some had been promised a position in the cabinet. It was not a harmonious group as most of them did not like each other. They had different ideas about governing the country, different ethics and different personalities. In particular, Simon Cameron, was forced on Lincoln by a deal struck with the Pennsylvania delegates at the Republican Convention. He already had a reputation for being incompetent and corrupt. Per the agreement he was Lincoln's Secretary of War. 
  Members included:
  Hannibal Hamlin, Lincoln's first Vice President (1861–1865).
  Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's second Vice President (1865–1865) and 17th President of the United States.
  Salmon P. Chase, United States Secretary of the Treasury. In 1864 he became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
  Simon Cameron, Secretary of War (1861–1862).
  Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War (1862–1865).
  William H. Seward, Secretary of State (1861–1865).
  Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy (1861–1865).
  Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General (1861–1864).
  Edward Bates, Attorney General (1861–1864).
caption: Portraits of Lincoln's cabinet members
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