| THE CASE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN A Story of Adultery Murder and the Making of a Great President |
|
| - Abraham Lincoln as a lawyer - Lincoln and the Republican Party |
| THE CASE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN strips away the legend, the marble and mantle of greatness to follow Lincoln through nine months in his career as a lawyer and politician. In Springfield in 1856, Lincoln was regarded as nothing more than "a good lawyer and a fair speaker, " as one of his friends put it, "None of us thought about him one way or the other." That would change by the end of the year. The story of Lincoln's dogged rise to the head of the new Republican Party in Illinois is set against the backdrop of one of the most important cases on which he ever worked. When a successful blacksmith was poisoned and then beaten to death in his own backyard, his wife and nephew were charged with murder and adultery. At a crucial juncture, Lincoln joined their defense. THE CASE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN walks with the future president, in his own element and in a remarkable year for him as a lawyer, father, husband, and politician. |
by Julie M. Fenster |
| Abraham Lincoln, Springfield Attorney, 1857 by permission of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library |
|
| Ad for Abraham Lincoln's law practice, Springfield State Journal, May 14, 1856 from THE CASE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN |