Stanbery, Henry S. (1803–1881)
STANBERY, HENRY S. (1803–1881)
An Ohio lawyer and United States attorney general (1866–1868), Henry Stanbery opposed congressional reconstruction and prepared many of President andrew johnson's veto messages. Nevertheless, in mississippi v. johnson (1867) Stanbery successfully defended executive enforcement of congressional statutes by arguing that the separation of powers barred the Supreme Court from issuing an injunction against the President. Similarly, in Georgia v. Stanton (1868) he successfully argued that the case involved political questions beyond the Court's jurisdiction. In 1868 Stanbery resigned his office to defend Johnson at his impeachment trial. Stanbery's insistence on due process slowed the trial and helped achieve Johnson's acquittal.
Paul Finkelman
(1986)
Bibliography
Meneely, A. Howard 1935 Henry Stanbery. In Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. 27:498–499. New York: Scribner's.