PCN
DONATE CART
Sign InRegister
Politics & Policy History & Culture PA Sports & PIAA State Championships Battle of Gettysburg Pennsylvania's Neighborhood America's 250th in Pennsylvania Civics 101 Weather World
Schedule Shop About Donate Contact
Programs Politics & Policy History & Culture PA Sports & PIAA State Championships Battle of Gettysburg Pennsylvania's Neighborhood America's 250th in Pennsylvania Civics 101 Weather World

Cart

SCHEDULE
12:11 AMLee and His Army from the Seven Days to Gettysburg
01:05 AMGrant and Lee, Masters of War
02:00 AMGeorge Meade at Williamsport
03:00 AMGettysburg Day 2: Company K, 1st Pennsylvania Reserves
03:34 AMGettysburg Day 1: Collapse of the 11th Corps
04:00 AMGettysburg Day 3: McGilvery's Artillery
05:20 AMGettysburg Day 3: Pickett's Charge Aftermath
07:00 AMPennsylvania Country Roads

ADVERTISEMENT

PCN app
PCN app
Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook Facebook
You are here: Home / Archive PA Books / “Amiable Scoundrel: Simon Cameron, Lincoln’s Scandalous Secretary of War”

“Amiable Scoundrel: Simon Cameron, Lincoln’s Scandalous Secretary of War”

744-Amiable Scoundrel cover

From abject poverty to undisputed political boss of Pennsylvania, Lincoln’s secretary of war, senator, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a founder of the Republican Party, Simon Cameron (1799–1889) was one of the nineteenth century’s most prominent political figures. The political changes of the early nineteenth century enabled him not only to improve his status but also to exert real political authority. The changes caused by the Civil War, in turn, allowed Cameron to consolidate his political authority into a successful, well-oiled political machine. A key figure in designing and implementing the Union’s military strategy during the Civil War’s crucial first year, Cameron played an essential role in pushing Abraham Lincoln to permit the enlistment of African Americans into the U.S. Army, a stance that eventually led to his forced resignation. Yet his legacy has languished, nearly forgotten save for the fact that his name has become shorthand for corruption, even though no evidence has ever been presented to prove that Cameron was corrupt.

Paul Kahan is a lecturer at Ohlone College in Fremont, California. He is the author of “The Bank War: Andrew Jackson, Nicholas Biddle, and the Fight for American Finance” and “The Homestead Strike: Labor, Violence, and American Industry.”

Description courtesy of Potomac Books.

PA Books airs Sunday nights at 7 pm.

Watch this episode and more with a PCN Select subscription!

pcn_select

ABOUT PCN
About
History
Our People
Awards
Privacy Policy
Certifications
WATCH PCN
How to Watch
Schedule
Channel Listing
Stream Now
Subscribe
Shop PCN
CONNECT
Careers
Contact Us
FAQ
Request Coverage
Support
Satellite Truck
Production Truck
PROGRAMS
Politics and Policy
History and Culture
Sports
Gettysburg Collection
FOLLOW US
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram

For closed captioning issues, please call 717-730-6000 or email closedcaption@pcntv.com
©2025 Pennsylvania Educational Communications Systems. All rights reserved.