Works of Abraham Lincoln - World of Biography

Abraham Lincoln Lincoln’s life on his own began when he came of age in 1830. At first he stayed with his family and worked at various jobs. His work started as a Prairie lawyer after he moved to Illinois.

He made his mark as an excellent lawyer.

LAWYER LINCOLN

In 1837, Abraham Lincoln moved to Springfield, Illinois that was the new state capital and offered many more opportunities for a lawyer than New Salem did. At first Lincoln was a partner of John T. Stuart, then of Stephen T. Logan and finally, from 1844, of William H. Herndon. Lincoln was almost 10 years younger than Herndon but was more widely read and generally more extreme in his views. Both seem to have gotten along extremely well and had no money quarrels. They split the cash between them whenever either of them was paid.

A few years after Lincoln moved to Springfield, he was earning around $ 1,500 annually, which was more than the salary of the Governor of the State ! This money did not come easy.

He not only practiced in the capital, but also followed the court as it made the rounds of its circuit. He would set out by horseback or buggy to travel hundreds of miles over the thinly settled Prairie from one county to another. Most of the cases were petty and the fees small.

The years after 1850 saw the coming of the railroad, which made traveling easier and the practice more remunerative. Abraham Lincoln served as a lobbyist for the Illinois Central Railroad and assisted it in getting a charter from the State. After this, he was retained as a regular attorney for that railroad. He defended the company against Mclean County, which attempted to tax its property. This got him the largest single fee of his legal career – $ 5,000. Ironically, he had to sue the Illinois Central in order to collect the fee. He also handled cases for other railroads and for banks, insurance companies, and mercantile and manufacturing firms. His finest performance at the bar was when he saved the Rock Island Bridge – the first to span the Mississippi River – from the threat of the river transportation interests that demanded to have the bridge removed.

His business during this time also included a number of patent suits and criminal trials. One of his most effective pleas had to do with a murder case. A witness claimed that, by the light of the moon, he had seen Duff Armstrong, an acquaintance of Lincoln’s take part in a killing.

Lincoln referred to an almanac and argued that the night had been too dark for the witness to have seen anything clearly. With a sincere and moving appeal, he won the acquittal.

About 20 years after launching his legal career, Lincoln had made himself one of the most distinguished lawyers in Illinois. He was noted not only for his shrewdness and practical common sense but also for his fairness and sheer honesty.