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OverviewAbraham Lincoln practiced law for nearly twenty-five years, five times longer than he served as president. Nonetheless, this aspect of his life was known only in the broadest outlines until the Lincoln Legal Papers project set to work gathering the surviving documentation of more than 5,600 of his cases. One of the first scholars to work in this vast collection, Mark E. Steiner goes beyond the hasty sketches of previous biographers to paint a detailed portrait of Lincoln the lawyer. This portrait not only depicts Lincoln's work for the railroads and the infamous case in which he defended the claims of a slaveholder; it also illustrates his more typical cases involving debt and neighborly disputes. Steiner describes Lincoln's legal education, the economics of the law office, and the changes in legal practice that Lincoln himself experienced as the nation became an industrial, capitalist society. Most important, Steiner highlights Lincoln's guiding principles as a lawyer. In contrast to the popular caricature of the lawyer as a scoundrel, Lincoln followed his personal resolve to be ""honest at all events,"" thus earning the nickname ""Honest Abe."" For him, honesty meant representing clients to the best of his ability, regardless of his own beliefs about the justice of their cause. Lincoln also embraced a professional ideal that cast the lawyer as a guardian of order. He was as willing to mediate a dispute outside the courtroom in the interest of maintaining peace as he was eager to win cases before a jury. Over the course of his legal career, however, Lincoln's dedication to the community and his clients' personal interests became outmoded. As a result of the rise of powerful, faceless corporate clients and the national debate over slavery, Lincoln the lawyer found himself in an increasingly impersonal, morally ambiguous world. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Mark E. SteinerPublisher: Cornell University Press Imprint: Northern Illinois University Press Dimensions: Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.90cm , Length: 22.90cm Weight: 0.454kg ISBN: 9780875806266ISBN 10: 0875806260 Pages: 282 Publication Date: 29 June 2009 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsTable of Contents Introduction 1—Lawyer Lincoln in American Memory 2—The Education of a Whig Lawyer 3—A Whig in the Courthouse 4—Law on the Prairie 5—In the Matter of Jane, A Woman of Color 6—Working for the Railroad 7—A Changing Legal Landscape Notes Select Bibliography Index of Cases General IndexReviewsThe best work so far on Lincoln as a lawyer... an intriguing tale. - Journal of Illinois History Author InformationMark E. Steiner is Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law. He received both his J.D. and his Ph.D. in History from the University of Houston. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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