Bates, Edward

Bates, Edward (1793–1869) public official, cabinet member; born in Belmont, Va. A Missouri state legislator, U.S. congressman (Whig, Mo.; 1827–29) and moderate voice in antebellum politics, he attracted national notice with an 1847 speech. In 1860 he unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination. He was Lincoln's attorney general (1861–64)—the first cabinet officer from west of the Mississippi—but resigned after his influence eroded because of his opposition to government wartime practices. Back in Missouri he opposed the post-war policies of the Radical Republicans.