Abraham Lincoln: A Life, Volume 1
Page 170
Law Practice:
—colleagues: Benedict, K., as, 329–30
Davis, D., as, 329–31, 352, 354, 364
Fithian as, 314
Linder as, 316, 329–30
Swett as, 317, 329–30, 331, 341–42
Webb, E.B., as, 329, 330–31, 425
Williams, A., as, 329–30
—general: appearances before Illinois Supreme Court, 355
approach to jury trials, 81, 86, 316–17
debt litigations, 339
defending slaveowners, 250–53
expansion of, 186
legacy of, 358–59
pettifogging experience, 87–88
preparations and receipt of license, 91–92, 99
tried suits in Green’s court, 87
—in Springfield: between 1849-1854, 309–62
between 1858-1860, 559–77
anger, 348–51
appellate lawyer, 334–41
clients, 132–37, 311–13, 349–50
divorce cases, 314–15
duel, 137–38, 190–94
Graham as mentor, 65–66, 77, 101
income from service fees, 132–33, 332–34, 339, 435–38
judge and lobbyist, 351–52
junior partners, 311
law partnership with Herndon, 89, 229–30, 311, 318–21, 333–34, 338, 560
law partnership with Logan, 184–89, 317, 333, 341
law partnership with Stuart, 62, 131–35, 351
libel and slander cases, 313–14
license to practice law, 131
life on circuit, 132–37, 186–87, 222–24, 322–32
mentors, 62, 65–66, 77, 89, 95–97, 101, 346–48
murder cases, 341–46
negligence, 355
offices, 310–11, 354–55
patent cases, 339–41, 444
railroad cases, 334–41, 437–38
reputation, 352–57
start, 128–29
Stuart as mentor, 62, 89, 95–97, 116, 347
trial lawyer, 315–22
Marriage and Domestic Life:
—general, 168
Browne officiated, 195
after ceremony, 196
death conversations, 196
move to Washington, 253–56
practical advantages of, 197
speculations about, 196
wedding party, 194–95
—as parent: care of children, 219
indulgent, 254
—relations with MTL: ambitions, 211–12, 213
applied for pension, 206
bad temper, 201–3, 206, 210–11
domestic chores, 219–20
harsh discipline of children, 203–4
“home was hell,” 222–24
in-laws, 207
left house in search of peace and quiet, 204–7, 208
life at Globe Tavern, 218–20
after marriage, 200–201
money matters, 207–8
not a good cook or hostess, 208
penuriousness, 208–9
physically abused AL, 203
Springfield house, 218, 220–24, 253, 339–40
New Salem Years, 52
attended debating society meetings, 65–66
boatman, 52–57, 59, 66–67
humorist and jack-of-all-trades, 52–57, 60, 82–83
self-education, 62–67
sewed eyes of hogs, 56
sight of slavery at New Orleans, 56–57
—Black Hawk War: conducted spy missions during, 68
enlistment of, 67
friendships and social life of, 68–69, 79–80, 89
popularity of, 69–70
reenlistments of, 68
route home after discharge by, 71
service in, 67–71
tours, 67–68
witnessed horrors during, 67–68
—merchant and storekeeper, 57
in business with Berry, 75–77
clerked for Offutt, 58, 59–62, 66, 76
free time, 61
indebtedness, 76–77
liquor sales, 76
popularity, 60
room
and board, 76–77
warehousing business, 66–67
—postmaster and surveyor: appointment and accounts as postmaster, 77–78
completed surveys, 80–81
creditor’s judgment against, 81
delivered letters, 78
duties, 77–78
hired as surveyor’s assistant, 78–79
lodging, 80–81
neglected duties, 101
personal finances, 78–79, 81
surveyor’s duties, 79
Poetry:
—about Grigsby, W., 46–47
Charity (Cowper), 255–56
The Cotter’s Saturday Night (Burns), 65
Elegant Extracts, or Useful and Entertaining Passages from the Best English Authors and Translations (Bryant), 255
Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard (Gray), 65
Essay on Man (Pope), 41, 64
The Fire-Worshippers (Moore), 246
The Grave (Blair), 255
Holy Willie’s Prayer (Burns), 84
The Inquiry (Mackay), 243–44
Lara (Byron), 65
The Last Leaf (Holmes), 245
Little Eddie, 359
Little Pigeon Creek, 23
Mortality (Knox), 241
My Childhood Home I See Again, 241–42
in New Salem, 64–65
personal, 241–43, 246–47
On Receipt of my Mother’s Picture (Cowper), 26
Thanatopsis (Bryant), 255
Politics:
—debates, 63–64, 65–66
1840 presidential debates, 149–52
with Calhoun, 225–26, 375–76
with Douglas, S.A., 337, 491–92, 568–71
first Douglas, S.A.’s (Ottawa), 63, 484, 486–97
second Douglas, S.A.’s (Freeport), 484, 500–511
third Douglas, S.A.’s (Jonesboro), 484, 511–16
fourth Douglas, S.A.’s (Charleston), 484, 516–25
fifth Douglas, S.A.’s (Galesburg), 484, 530–34
sixth Douglas, S.A.’s (Quincy), 484, 534–37
seventh Douglas, S.A.’s (Alton), 484, 537–45
garbling of, 497–500
with May, 226–27
pro-tariff, 225–27
religion, 238–39
slavery, 260, 376–90
—legislation and platforms:
1832 platform, 97
1837 special legislative session, 113–14, 137–38
1838-1840, 138–67
1840 special legislative session, 161–65
appetite for, 88–89
Bank of Illinois, 113–14
Bank of the United States, 96, 150–52
Dred Scott decision, 438–42, 464
economic issues, 247–49
education, 72
freshman legislator, 92–97
Illinois and Michigan Canal construction, 82, 96, 101–3, 111, 137, 147, 164–65, 309–10, 397
immigration, 227–28
internal improvement bill, 72, 114–22, 143–45, 147–48
jurisdiction of justices of peace, 95
land proposals, 144–45
New Salem county divisions, 81–82, 145–46
opposition to improve breed of cattle, 103
pay hikes, 121–22
protectionism, 248–49
reports for Committee on Public Accounts and Expenditures, 95
slavery issues, 284–94, 409–10
slavery protests, 122–27
Springfield as capital, 114–22
“States Rights Plank,” 413
tariff issues, 224–27, 247–49
Tenth General Assembly, 122
“the Long Nine,” 114–22
usury laws, 72
women’s suffrage, 103–5
—party and polit
ical creed:
1847-1849 congressman, 257–308
admirer of Clay, 73
appetite for, 88–89
articles against Democrats, 95–96, 102, 105–12, 135–67
dabbling, 357
defeated as Speaker of the House, 143
defeats, 358, 549–50, 552–57
Democrats support, 81
education, 72
freshman legislator, 92–97
General Land Office commission, 296–308
leader of Whigs, 105, 112–13
little-known Whig, 71–75
log rolling, 119–20
patronage scramble, 294–96
race-baiting, 105–10
sophomore legislator, 103–27
—political campaigns: 1832, 71–75, 81–85, 105
1834, 105
1836, 103–27
1840, 161–65
1843-1847 congressional, 213–56
1846 congressional, 231–41, 253–56
1848 presidential elections, 273–84
1856 presidential election, 421–35
1858, 328
1859-1860 presidential election, 627–83
1859-1860 Republican presidential nomination, 558–626
attended meetings, 37
Clay’s presidential, 148–61, 224–29
congressional political rivals, 213–18
departure from General Assembly, 165–67
for governor, 166
Harrison’s 1840 presidential, 148–67
introduction to, 49–50
preparation, 62
reentering, 363–64
senate, 390–406, 457–85, 554–57
—president-elect, 684
appeasement proposals, 694–707
cabinet-making, 719–58
Cameron dilemma, 726–37
case of Chase, 737–39
case of Smith, C.B., 739–42
case of Welles, 742–44
correspondence, 685–87
Crittenden Compromise, 712–18
inaugural address, 756–58
initial appointments, 720–26
Maryland and, 744–45
Peace Convention, 753–56
receiving visitors, 685–87
resistance to appeasement, 707–12
responses to secession, 707–8
Seward and, 745–53
South’s secession, 687–94
—speaking style:
colloquialism, 240
during debates, 63–64, 65–66
forthrightness, 239
oratorical prowess, 261–62
primitive linguistic background, 63–64
—speeches, 568
during 1836 campaign, 106–7
antislavery, 140–42
Bloomington Convention, 418–22
Cooper Union, 354, 582–94
denunciation, 156
Discoveries and Inventions, 443–45
Fell on, 225–26
freshman legislator, 96
government mail contract, 106–7, 264–65
Harbor and River Convention, 248
Harrison’s 1840 presidential, 153–67
Herndon on, 387–88
“House Divided,” 438–66
Kalamazoo, 428–29
Mexican War, 265–73, 277–80, 526–30
misrepresentation of, 499–500, 504
New Jersey legislature in 1861, 7
Pappsville campaign address, 73
Petersburg, 430
on printing, 35
repeated others’, 40
skills, 133, 153–56
Springfield-Peoria, 376–90, 492, 632
Young Men’s Lyceum “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions,” 140–42
Reading, Writing, and Study Habits:
—books, plays, and writers: Aesop’s Fables, 36
Age of Reason and Common Sense (Paine), 36
American Spelling Book (Rhoad), 36
American Spelling Book (Webster, N.), 36
The Arabian Nights, 36
Authentic Narrative of the Loss of the American Brig Commerce (Riley), 36
biographies, 53
The Christian’s Defense (Smith), 359
Commentaries on the Laws of England (Blackstone), 88, 89–90, 310
Conflict of Laws (Story), 351
English Grammar in Familiar Lectures (Kirkham), 63, 64
English Reader (Murray), 36
George Balcombe: A Novel (Tucker), 65
Hamlet (Shakespeare), 1, 65, 134–35
History of the United States (Grimshaw), 36
The Kentucky Preceptor, 36
Lessons in Elocution (Scott), 36
Macbeth (Shakespeare), 65
New Guide to the English Tongue (Dilworth), 36
Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan), 36
Robinson Crusoe (Defoe), 36
Slavery Discussed in Occasional Essays from 1833 to 1846 (Bacon), 377
The Statutes of Indiana, 43
System of Geometry and Trigonometry: Together with a Treatise on Surveying (Flint), 79
Treatise on Practical Surveying (Gibson), 79
—handwriting, 95
—in Indiana: ABC school, 30–37
alphabet writing skills of, 35
astronomy and, 33
early schooling of, 18–19
Euclid’s geometry and, 34
father’s attitude toward, 28
memory skills of, 35
reading newspapers, 35, 36–37
reading summary book, 34
spelling of, 32–33
studying by, 42
as voracious reader, 28, 30, 34–37
—in New Salem: melancholia, 65
read at night and spare time, 62, 64
read books, 64–65
read poetry, 64–65
self-education of, 62–67
studied English grammar, 62–64
—on the circuit: read at night, 333–34
read Euclid, Shakespeare, Burns, and Poe, 333–34
—study of grammar, 62–64
asked Duncan for assistance, 63
asked Greene, W., for assistance, 63, 79
used Kirkham’s English Grammar, 63, 64
—study of Latin, 92
—study of law, 7, 87–92, 185–86
analytical mind of, 88–89
antisocial and sought solitude, 91
drafted legal documents, 87
preparations and receipt of license, 91–92, 99
read law books, 87
served as witness and juror, 88
studied alone, 90
studied Blackstone’s Commentaries, 88, 89–90, 310
study regimen, 90–91
—study of surveying while Offutt’s clerk, studied Flint’s System of Geometry, 79
Songs:
—Lamentation, 245
Lord Ullin’s Daughter, 245
Mary’s Dream, 245
The Soldier’s Dream, 245
Twenty Years Ago, 245
Springfield:
—settling down in: 1841 return to, 187–88
1849 return to, 307–8
AL’s presidential Republican nomination, 626
duel, 137–38, 190–94
generosity of friends, 130–31
house, 218, 220, 224, 253
indebtedness, 130–31
lawyer and legislator, 128–29
license to practice law, 131
midlife crisis, 357–62
president-elect, 684–718
Washington, D.C.:
—AL’s popularity, 261–63
arrival, 257–61
description, 256–59
life, 263–64
move to, 253–56
offices, 263
Writings and Letters:
—“A Citizen,” 144
“A Conservative,” 139–42
“A Looker-on,” 159
“An Old Jackson Man,”
159
autobiographical sketch, 62–63
“The Chronicles of Reuben,” 46
early composition, 30
“Lost Township,” 138–39, 190–94
on “selfishness,” 145
“Son of an Old Ranger,” 159–60
on temper and self-control, 1
temperance, 31–32
Lincoln, Abraham (grandfather/Captain): biography of, 1–2
birth of, 4
death of, 2
Lincoln, Austin, 20
Lincoln, Bathsheba (grandmother), 3, 4
Lincoln, Davis, 20
Lincoln, Edward Baker “Eddie” (AL’s son), 177–78, 214, 359
Lincoln, George B., 222, 584
Lincoln, Hananiah, 3–4, 20
Lincoln, Issac, 4
Lincoln, James, 6
Lincoln, John (great grandfather), 1–2
Lincoln, Josiah, 20
Lincoln, Levi, 306, 423
Lincoln, Mary Jane, 6
Lincoln, Mary Rowena, 6
Lincoln, Mary Todd (MTL) [wife], 3, 195–96, 212, 214, 216, 221, 247, 256, 273, 306–7, 359, 403–4, 438, 480, 580, 640, 658, 672, 713, 758
Browning on, 176, 197–98
Trumbull and, 404–5
AL’s courtship of, 168
1840 engagement, 176
and AL’s mental breakdown, 182–84
and AL’s attraction to Edwards, M., 181–83
avoidance of MTL, 187
broken engagement, 181–84, 188–89
and character of MTL, 173–84
courting, 173–84
and cultivation and wit of MTL, 174
deficiencies with relationship, 174–76
depression and mental problems of MTL, 179–80, 210–11
dissimilar backgrounds, 176
grievances with stepmother and family, 177–78
and, Stuart, J.T., 173, 197
marriage and domestic life, 437, 480
ambitions, 211–12, 213
applied for pension, 206
temper of, 201–3, 206, 210–11
domestic chores, 219–20
harsh discipline of children, 203–4
“home was hell,” 222–24
in-laws, 207
life at Globe Tavern, 218–20
after marriage, 200–201
mental problems of other family members, 180
money matters, 207–8
not a good cook or hostess, 208
penuriousness, 208–9
physically abused AL, 203
popularity, 262–63
privileged childhood of, 176–77
reconciliation, 194
seduction of AL, 197–98, 200–201
sexuality, 198–201
Springfield house, 218, 220–24, 253–54, 339–40
took initiative in courtship with AL, 175–76
Lincoln, Mordecai (uncle), 2–4
depression, melancholia and, 6
personal qualities of, 55
Lincoln, Nancy Hanks (mother), 2, 3, 6, 8, 11–17, 14, 19, 49, 173, 242
character and behavior of, 12
courtships of, 12–13
death of, 4–5, 15, 25–27, 34, 173, 176–77
religion of, 19–20