Henry Stanbery

After his 1819 college graduation, Stanbery studied law in Zanesville first with attorney Ebenezer Granger, and after Granger's death with Charles B. Goddard.[4] He was admitted to the bar in 1824, and began to practice with Thomas Ewing in Fairfield County, Ohio.[1]

In 1846, the Ohio General Assembly elected Stanbery to serve as Ohio Attorney General, the first person to hold the post.[1] He moved from his home in Lancaster to the state capital of Columbus to assume his new duties.[1] As the initial holder of the position, Stanbery spent much of his time and effort on determining its duties and responsibilities and organizing his staff.[1] His work included creation of a case-tracking system and uniform crime report format for county prosecutors and a successful lobbying campaign to obtain the power to negotiate with individuals and corporations that were in debt to the state.[1] Once he obtained this power in 1848, Stanbery cleared a backlog of existing lawsuits and cases by entering into agreements for partial payment or payment over time.[1]

In 1850 he was elected a delegate to the 1850-1851 state constitutional convention.[4] In 1853 he moved to Cincinnati, and in 1857 he moved across the Ohio River to Fort Thomas, Kentucky, where he owned an elegant hilltop mansion, The Highlands.[4]

On April 16, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Stanbery as an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court, to fill the vacancy created by the death of John Catron.[5] The Republicans who controlled Congress were at odds with Johnson over post-Civil War Reconstruction. Therefore, rather than consider the Stanbery nomination, Congress instead passed the Judicial Circuits Act in July 1866 reducing the size of the Supreme Court.[4]

Prior to being nominated, in March 1866, Stanbery assisted Attorney General James Speed in arguing Ex parte Milligan before the Supreme Court. In its decision the Court held that military tribunals for civilian defendants were illegal in jurisdictions where the civilian criminal justice system was functioning.[6]

Johnson then nominated Stanbery for Attorney General, and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.[4]

Stanbery loyally supported Johnson during his longstanding fight with Congress over Reconstruction.[7] He assisted in drafting Johnson's veto of the first Reconstruction Act.[7] After Congress overrode Johnson's vetoes of the first and second Reconstruction Acts, Stanbery provided opinions containing narrow interpretations bolstering Johnson's position on the issue.[7] In Johnson's view, the president had responsibility for Reconstruction, and he intended to return the former Confederate states to the Union and full Congressional representation as soon as possible, without guaranteeing the rights of the former slaves who had been freed during the war.[7] Stanbery agreed, arguing that the federal government had no right to interfere with the states in their administration of their governments and legal systems.[7] Congress determined to take control of Reconstruction, compel former Confederates to prove their loyalty before readmission to the Union, and protect the rights of African Americans.[7] In the third Reconstruction Act, which Johnson and Stanbery opposed, Congress limited the president's authority with respect to post-war Reconstruction and became predominant in the process.[7]

As Attorney General, he argued Mississippi v. Johnson (1867), which held that the separation of powers barred the Supreme Court from issuing an injunction against the President when he implemented Reconstruction by executive action, in effect leaving Reconstruction as a political matter to be decided between the president and Congress.[6] In Georgia v. Stanton (1868), Stanbery successfully argued that the court did not have jurisdiction over the political question of Reconstruction, which again left the matter to the executive and legislative branches.[6]

Illustration of President Johnson consulting with his counsel

When Congress moved to impeach Johnson as the result of the Reconstruction dispute, Stanbery resigned as attorney general on March 12, 1868, and joined his defense team.[7] An illness limited Stanbery's participation in Johnson's trial, but he submitted several opinions and arguments in writing to aid Johnson's other attorneys.[7] Much of his effort focused on ensuring that Johnson received due process, which had the effect of slowing the proceedings and making a conviction in the heat of the moment less likely.[6] By the time Johnson was acquitted, Stanbery had rejoined the team, and he took part in several pro-Johnson celebrations.[7]

After the trial, Johnson renominated Stanbery for Attorney General, but the U.S. Senate refused to confirm him.[7] Stanbery then returned to Ohio to resume his law practice.[7]