Simon Cameron was born on March 8, 1799, in Maytown, Pennsylvania to Charles and Martha (Pfoutz) Cameron. He served intermittently as a U.S. senator between 1845 and 1877, and as the U.S. Secretary of War from 1861 to 1862. He died on June 26, 1889, in Maytown, Pennsylvania.

Beriah Magoffin was born on April 18, 1815, in Harrodsburg, Kentucky . He became a state judge in 1840 and a Kentucky state senator in 1850. He served as the governor of Kentucky from 1859 to 1861, and as a state representative in 1867. Magoffin died on February 28, 1885, in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Magoffin County in Kentucky is named for him.

William Henry Seward was born to Samuel and Mary (Jennings) Seward in Florida, New York on May 16, 1801. He graduated from Union College in 1820 and was admitted to the New York Bar in 1822. He married Frances Miller on October 10, 1824, and the couple had five children. Seward practiced law in Auburn, New York before becoming involved in politics. He served as a member of the New York Senate (1830-1834) and as the Governor of New York (1838-1842) before representing New York in the United States Senate (1849-1861). In 1860, Abraham Lincoln appointed Seward Secretary of State. He served until 1869, during which time he advocated war with Spain and France to solidify the United States, protested against the outfitting of Confederate privateers in British ports, and purchased Alaska. Seward died on October 15, 1872 in Auburn, New York.

George N. Sanders was born on February 12, 1812, in Lexington, Kentucky to Lewis and Ann (Nicholas) Sanders. He married Anna Reid in 1836 and they had two sons. Sanders worked on Steven Douglas’ campaign and was a passionate Confederate. President Pierce sent him on a diplomatic mission to London, but recalled him after he participated in anarchist activities. He was implicated in the plans for Lincoln’s assassination. Sanders died on August 12, 1873, in New York.

Abraham Lincoln was born to Thomas and Nancy (Hanks) Lincoln near Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809. Lincoln settled in New Salem, Illinois in 1831, where he worked as a storekeeper in addition to serving as deputy county surveyor, postmaster, and odd jobber. He also served as a Captain in the Black Hawk War (1832) and studied law in his free time. Lincoln was licensed as an attorney in 1836 and was admitted to the Bar in 1837 at which time he moved to Springfield, Illinois to practice. Lincoln married Mary Ann Todd (1818-1882) on November 4, 1842 and the couple had four children: Robert Todd (1843-1926), Edward Baker (1846-1850), William Wallace (1850-1862), and Thomas (1853-1871).

In 1847, Lincoln was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives. He served until his term expired in 1849 and did not reenter political life until 1854 when he opposed many of Stephen A. Douglas' policies, including the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Lincoln ran unsuccessfully for Vice President (1856) and for a Senate seat (1858) before being elected President in 1860. He signed an act freeing the slaves of Washington, D.C. in April of 1862 and issued the Emancipation Proclamation in September of the same year. Lincoln also set down the beginnings of Reconstruction by pardoning Confederate officials who would swear allegiance to the Union and forming loyal Southern state governments. John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865 while he was watching a play entitled Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater. Lincoln was taken to a residence across the street, where he died the following day.

Jefferson Finis Davis was born on June 5, 1808, in Fairview, Kentucky to Samuel and Jane (Cook) Davis. He graduated from West Point in 1828 and was promoted during his military career, to 1st lieutenant in the Black Hawks War and to commander of the Mississippi regiment in the Mexican American War. Davis married Sarah Taylor on June 17, 1835, and Varina Howell on February 25, 1845. He was a U.S. representative from Mississippi in 1845 and 1846, and a U.S. senator from 1847 to 1851. He served as the U.S. Secretary of War from 1853 to 1857 and was elected as the president of the Confederate States of America in 1861, serving until 1865 despite being captured by Union forces and kept in prison for two years. Davis died on December 1889 in New Orleans, Louisiana. There are counties in Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas named for him, as well as a parish in Louisiana. He was posthumously pardoned on October 17, 1978.