Abraham Lincoln, Esquire

by Matt Kosloski
University at Buffalo Honors Program

Abraham Lincoln was a self-made man in every sense of the phrase. Rising from obscurity as the son of a backwoods farmer, he distinguished himself in virtually every aspect of his life. We all know Lincoln as president and the Great Emancipator, but there is another side of the man that is all too often overlooked. Long before Lincoln ever dreamed of setting foot in Washington, D.C. he looked towards the courtroom. He was first and foremost a man of the law. It was his career in law that not only sculpted his later path in life, but made him the man we all know and admire. It was a very versatile tool, going so far as to provide him with the platform for launching his political career as well. His characteristic shrewd courtroom tactics and appeal to reason would come to define his presidency. Even when leaving to take office in Washington, he attested his heart would always lie with the law. He left his law partner and best friend with a final reassurance, "If I live I'm coming back some time, and then we'll go right on practicing law as if nothing had ever happened."

 

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Hill, Frederick Trevor. Lincoln the Lawyer . Littleton , Colo. : F.B. Rothman, 1986.

Matthews, Elizabeth W. Lincoln as a Lawyer: An Annotated Bibliography . Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, c1991.

Spiegel, Allen D. A. Lincoln, Esquire: A Shrewd, Sophisticated Lawyer In His Time . Macon , Ga. : Mercer University Press, 2002.