The North Jersey Civil War Round Table and Morristown and Morris Township Library’s North Jersey History and Genealogy Center are pleased to present author Paul Kahan, on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, at 2 p.m. in the library’s lower level meeting room.
Kahan a lecturer at Ohlone College in Fremont, CA, and author of a number of books, will explain how Simon Cameron (1799-1889) rose 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.
Cameron was one of the 19th century’s most prominent political figures. In his wake, however, he left a series of questionable political and business dealings and, at the age of 80, even a sex scandal.
Amiable Scoundrel puts Cameron’s actions into a larger historical context by demonstrating that many politicians of the time, including Abraham Lincoln, used similar tactics to win elections and advance their careers. This study is the fascinating story of Cameron’s life and an illuminating portrait of his times.
