Lincoln's attorney general, Edward Bates was born on 4th September 1793 in Goochland County, Virginia, the son of a planter and merchant. His formal education was limited, but he received
instruction from his father and relatives. He served briefly in a volunteer militia company during the War of 1812.
At the suggestion of his brother, who was secretary of the Missouri Territory, Bates went to St. Louis in 1814, studied law, and was licensed to practice two years
later. He became involved in politics, holding several local offices, including attorney general, before being elected to Congress in 1826. As a National Republican,
he opposed Andrew Jackson, a stand that contributed to his defeat for reelection in 1828. Bates returned to the state legislature and private law practice for a
number of years. In the late 1840s, he established a national reputation as a leading spokesman for internal improvements and was offered a position in President
Millard Fillmore 's cabinet. Bates declined the post, however.
As the issue of slavery expansion intensified during the 1850s, Bates took his stand with those who favored keeping the territories free. He remained a Whig through
its 1856 convention, but inevitably gravitated to the Republican party. As a border state conservative, Bates was widely mentioned as a presidential candidate for
the 1860 Republican nomination. But at the Chicago convention, he never received more than forty-eight votes, and with the nomination of Lincoln, his candidacy
collapsed. While Bates's border and conservative credentials came up short at Chicago, they served him well when Lincoln selected his cabinet. Lincoln appointed
him attorney general, and Bates became the first cabinet member to be chosen from the region west of the Mississippi River.
Bates was a successful attorney general and was seen as a moderate in Lincoln's cabinet. He opposed military conflict with the Confederacy claiming
that a civil war "would soon became a social war, the horrors of which need not be dwelt upon." During the American Civil War Bates opposed the
recruitment of black regiments and complained about the growing influence of the Radical Republicans in the government.
Lincoln and Bates disagreed about how the Confederacy should be treated after the war. Whereas Lincoln favoured Reconstruction , Bates believed
in granting an universal amnesty and the restoration of property rights. Unable to convince Lincoln of this policy, he resigned from office in November, 1864.
Bates hoped to be appointed at Chief Justice of the Supreme Court but instead this post went to Salmon P. Chase . After Lincoln's assassination, the
former attorney general attacked the decision of Edwin M. Stanton and James Speed to try the alleged conspirators by a military commission.
Edward Bates died in St. Louis on 25th March, 1869.