what did abe lincoln do before he was a lawyer

by Pedro Feeney Sr. 8 min read

In 1834, when Lincoln was 25 years old and living in New Salem, Illinois, he ran for a seat in the Illinois legislature and won. After the victory, he borrowed money to purchase his first suit and took up the study of law. Lincoln had been a farmer, laborer, raftsman, store clerk, postman, and surveyor.

What to know before becoming a lawyer?

The woman told Arthur she had uterine cancer. Before long, they were discussing what her funeral could look like, the family she'd leave behind, and all the things she wanted to do before she died.

Why should you should become a lawyer?

  • Opportunity to Help Others. Furtherance of public good and ensuring justice and fair treatment to all and sundry in the society by duly helping individuals, groups and organizations with their ...
  • Knowledge of the law. ...
  • Command over speech. ...

What are the professional requirements for becoming a lawyer?

What are the Professional Requirements for Becoming a Lawyer?

  1. Bachelor's Degree. Anyone who wants to pursue a law degree must first complete a bachelor's degree program (or its equivalent).
  2. Law School. The next step is to graduate from or complete at least three years at a law school accredited by the American Bar Association, with slight variations from ...
  3. State Bar Exam. ...
  4. Character and Fitness Review. ...
  5. Oath. ...

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How did Lincoln make a difference in the world?

  • He was the first Republican president.
  • He was the president that guided America through her first Civil War.
  • He was the president to sign the emancipation proclamation.

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What did Abraham Lincoln do before he was a lawyer?

He spent most of his early life on a farm in Indiana and eventually moved to Illinois, where he took several jobs, including as a storekeeper and a surveyor. But his deep interest in the law formed the foundation for what he would become later in life.

What was Lincoln's first job?

As a young man, Lincoln stood out from the crowd, tall and lanky at six-feet four-inches. He arrived in New Salem and landed a job as a clerk in a general store.

Was Abraham Lincoln a lawyer before he became President?

Prior to becoming a famous leader, however, Lincoln had a career as an accomplished attorney. In preparing for his legal career, Lincoln enthusiastically studied law books loaned to him, and on Sept. 9, 1836, he received his law license.

What did Abraham Lincoln do in his early life?

Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years.

What was Abraham Lincoln jobs?

LawyerMilitary OfficerFarmerStatespersonAbraham Lincoln/Professions

What are 3 interesting facts about Abraham Lincoln?

➢ At 6 foot, 4 inches, Abraham Lincoln was the tallest president. ➢ Lincoln was the first president to be born outside of the original thirteen colonies. ➢ Lincoln was the first president to be photographed at his inauguration. John Wilkes Booth (his assassin) can be seen standing close to Lincoln in the picture.

How did Abe Lincoln Learn law?

Abraham Lincoln learned the law by borrowing books and training informally with practicing lawyers. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1836 and practiced law there for 25 years. Most of his work involved settling debts, contracts, business disputes, divorces, and some criminal cases.

How did Lincoln become a lawyer with no education?

Lincoln took on many different cases before the Illinois Supreme Court, but argued only one before the U.S. Supreme Court. He had no legal education, and passed the bar exam by judge, not by writted examination. That's how he got a law license.

How did Abraham Lincoln become a lawyer quizlet?

How did Abraham Lincoln become a lawyer? Lincoln went to law school in Illinois to prepare for his debates against Stephen Douglas. Lincoln taught himself how to practice law to prepare for his debates against Stephen Douglas. Lincoln went to law school in the East while serving in the Illinois state legislature.

Who ended slavery?

President Abraham LincolnOn February 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the state legislatures. The necessary number of states (three-fourths) ratified it by December 6, 1865.

Why is Lincoln called Honest Abe?

“Honest Abe” was a nickname that Abraham Lincoln embraced with pride. He believed in his own integrity and worked diligently to maintain his reputation as an honest politician and lawyer –something that was not always easy in either of those fields.

How did Abraham Lincoln impact the American people?

This helped him win a seat in the House of Representatives in 1846. He spoke out against the Mexican-American War and against slavery, which he felt needed to be abolished. He ran as a Republican for president in 1860 and was successfully elected as the 16th president of the United States in 1861. He was then re-elected in 1864. Throughout his presidential career, Abraham Lincoln fought tirelessly against the horrors of slavery and tried diligently to unite a divided nation. His leadership during the Civil War was integral to how our country is shaped today. Sadly, he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. This moment in history is known as one of America's darkest days. People all over the country revered Lincoln as a great man, even those who may have disagreed with him. Today, his legacy as a uniting force for America and someone who fought tirelessly for freedom lives on.

What was Lincoln's role in the Civil War?

His leadership during the Civil War was integral to how our country is shaped today. Sadly, he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.

What was Abraham Lincoln's career?

While he was an important part of American history in this regard, he also had a successful career as a lawyer . This background is part of what made Lincoln so adapted to writing excellent speeches and what made him so well-versed in understanding the law as well as right versus wrong. He spent most of his early life on a farm in Indiana and eventually moved to Illinois, where he took several jobs, including as a storekeeper and a surveyor. But his deep interest in the law formed the foundation for what he would become later in life.

What is Lincoln's legacy?

Today, his legacy as a uniting force for America and someone who fought tirelessly for freedom lives on.

How did Douglas challenge Lincoln?

Douglas met the challenge by trying to portray Lincoln as a radical abolitionist. He disagreed with Lincoln's claim that the founding fathers had opposed slavery, pointing out that many of them, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, had owned slaves. He played down the moral issue in favor of his commitment to a Jacksonian egalitarianism for white Americans, saying that the power to decide about the existence of slavery should be left to each community and on the local level. And he argued that slavery in any case would never survive outside of the South for simple economic reasons. Douglas asserted in his Freeport Doctrine (delivered at Freeport, Illinois) that the people could keep slavery out of their territories. Despite the Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court, which defended the property rights of slaveowners, Douglas claimed that local communities could decide for themselves to not pass local police laws to preserve the institution of slavery and not to protect slaveowners. He warned the nation not to try to judge political issues on moral grounds lest emotions spill over into civil war. Ultimately, Douglas argued that the issue came down to conflicting ideologies: a view of the nation as a confederacy of sovereign and equal states versus a federalist empire of consolidated states. He accused Lincoln of being an abolitionist at heart, and a dangerous fanatic whose policies would result in racial consolidation and racial equality. In doing so, Douglas appealed shamelessly to the race prejudice of Illinois voters.

What did Abraham Lincoln do in the Black Hawk War?

A few weeks after throwing his hat in the ring, the Black Hawk War broke out, and Lincoln volunteered to fight Indians. His fellow volunteers elected him the temporary captain of their company, an honor that he valued more than his nomination for the presidency, and off they marched to war. It was a thirty-day stint, and when it was up, Lincoln—having seen no military action—signed on for another twenty days, and then again for a third term of thirty days. In his last duty, he served as a private in the Independent Spy Corps, which unsuccessfully tried to track down Chief Black Hawk in southern Wisconsin. As a soldier, Lincoln saw no action in the war, but his tour of duty prevented him from campaigning for office.

What did Abraham Lincoln do in New Salem?

Thereafter, he refocused his energies on studying law on his own, arguing cases before the local justice of the peace even before passing the state bar exam in 1836, and getting his license in 1837. Lincoln also participated in Whig political functions, serving as secretary in the party's meetings.

What was Lincoln's Whig Party?

As a young legislator, Lincoln generally voted along Whig Party lines.

How tall was Abraham Lincoln when he arrived in New Salem?

As a young man, Lincoln stood out from the crowd, tall and lanky at six-feet four-inches. He arrived in New Salem and landed a job as a clerk in a general store. Soon thereafter, Lincoln started to make a name for himself, successfully wrestling the town bully and amazing most of his neighbors with his strength and ability to split rails and fell trees—a survival skill that he developed as a child of the American frontier. In small towns during that era, the general store was a meeting place, and thus Lincoln grew to know the community well. He delighted people with his wit, intelligence, and integrity. For the less literate citizens of New Salem, Abe's ability to read and write was invaluable. He quickly became a popular member of the town, endearing himself to the locals as a good-natured and "bookish" young man.

What happened to Abraham Lincoln after he threw his hat in the ring?

A few weeks after throwing his hat in the ring, the Black Hawk War broke out, and Lincoln volunteered to fight Indians. His fellow volunteers elected him the temporary captain of their company, an honor that he valued more than his nomination for the presidency, and off they marched to war.

How long did Abraham Lincoln serve in the military?

It was a thirty-day stint, and when it was up, Lincoln—having seen no military action—signed on for another twenty days, and then again for a third term of thirty days. In his last duty, he served as a private in the Independent Spy Corps, which unsuccessfully tried to track down Chief Black Hawk in southern Wisconsin.

What did Lincoln say to Harrison in a letter?

In a letter, dated November 3, 1859, Lincoln responded to Harrison by encouraging him to vote for Palmer, since “he is good and true, and deserves the best vote we can give him.”. This month, we’re honored to display this original letter, on loan from Jorge Roldan and Family.

What did Lincoln sue for?

2) Lincoln had to sue for a fee. Lincoln worked his most profitable case while representing Illinois Central Railroad i n 1856 who paid him $5,000. McLean County had seized railroad land to sell after refusing to recognize the state’s authority to exempt the company from county taxes.

What was Lincoln's most famous trial?

In 1858, Lincoln successfully defended his client who had been accused of murder in one of his most famous trials, dubbed the Almanac Trial. The key witness’s testimony relied on his explanation that he had seen the murder because of the light from the full moon. Lincoln was able to refute the claim through reference to a farmers almanac that showed there was a new moon the night of the murder, and thus insufficient light by which the witness could have seen the alleged murderer.

What is Lincoln's lawyer month?

To honor both Lincoln’s noble profession — July was lawyer month at the Cottage — and our 10-year anniversary, we created a list of Ten Things You Might Not Have Known about Lincoln the Lawyer.

Did Peachy kill Lincoln?

Peachy had killed a man in self-defense and was charged with murder, a local case that gained national attention due to Lincoln’s status as a presidential hopeful. In the last murder case of his 25-year career as a trial lawyer, Lincoln argued the case flawlessly and Peachy was acquitted. Read more about the case here.

Who was the slave owner in 1847?

1) Lincoln represented a slave owner. In October 1847 Robert Matson brought several enslaved people from Kentucky to work on his farm in Illinois, including Jane Bryant and her four children. Also working at the farm was freedman Anthony Bryant, Jane’s husband. When threatened with the children being sold, the Bryants fled Matson’s farm ...

Who was Lincoln in the Supreme Court?

Lincoln made many appearances as a lawyer in front of the Illinois Supreme Court but only one before the United States Supreme Court. In 1849 Lincoln represented Thomas Lewis before the Supreme Court in the case Lewis v Lewis. Lincoln lost the cause and Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote the majority opinion opposing Lincoln.

Move to Illinois

Many people are unaware that Lincoln was mostly self-educated and learned to read while in Kentucky, scratching words on the back of a shovel as his paper pad of sorts.

Did Abraham Lincoln Attend Law School?

Abraham Lincoln enjoyed a 25-year legal career in Illinois, but he was never really educated in the field. He did practice law but did not take the traditional law school route. Like many lawyers in the 1800s, Abraham Lincoln never received his legal education or attended law school.

When Did Abraham Lincoln Practice Law?

In 1834, Abraham caught the attention of a lawyer by the name of John Stuart, who gave Lincoln a lot of legal books to study and encouraged him to pick up this profession. As bright as Lincoln was, within 3 years, the stout gentleman joined John Stuart as a partner in his law practice.

Abe and the Illinois Supreme Court

In the 1840s, Abraham Lincoln took on his first Illinois State Supreme Court case just before ending his partnership with Logan. After he got elected to the US Congress in 1846, Lincoln took a 2-year break from practicing law. However, he soon resumed his practice, working hard to regain his position as a prairie lawyer.

What date was Fort Sumter attacked by the Confederate forces?

The news that on April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter reached Washington just as watchmaker Jonathan Dillon was repairing Abraham Lincoln’s timepiece. Caught up in the moment, Dillon unscrewed the dial and engraved: “Jonathan Dillon April 13, 1861 Fort Sumpter [sic] was attacked by the rebels on the above date J Dillon April 13, 1861 Washington” and “thank God we have a government Jonth Dillon.” Other watchmakers’ markings also appear on the plate.#N#Lincoln never knew of the message he carried in his pocket. The inscription remained hidden behind the dial.#N#The unconfirmed story was known only within Dillon’s family...until now. After being contacted by Dillon’s great great-grandson, the Museum removed the dial on March 10, 2009, to reveal the watchmaker’s declaration.#N#See related video (3 minutes).

How did Abraham Lincoln learn law?

Abraham Lincoln learned the law by borrowing books and training informally with practicing lawyers. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1836 and practiced law there for 25 years. Most of his work involved settling debts, contracts, business disputes, divorces, and some criminal cases.

What was Abraham Lincoln's profession?

Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life. “Profession, a Lawyer ”. —Abraham Lincoln’s entry in the Dictionary of Congress, 1848. In 1834, when Lincoln was 25 years old and living in New Salem, Illinois, he ran for a seat in the Illinois legislature and won. After the victory, he borrowed money to purchase his first suit and took up the study of law.

When did the Smithsonian donate the desk to the Smithsonian?

After the senator’s death, Mrs. Dirksen donated the desk to the Smithsonian in 1970. “It was his pride and joy. . . ,” she wrote. “When he was at home in Pekin, instead of Washington, he would take his work upstairs to his Lincoln desk every evening after supper, rather than working in his downstairs study.”.

Who worked on the same desk as Abraham Lincoln?

Where Lincoln Worked. Sen. Everett Dirksen of Illinois purchased this desk for 10 dollars. As Republican minority leader, Dirksen played a crucial role in helping to write and pass civil rights legislation of the 1960s. It is likely he did some of this work on the same desk once used by Abraham Lincoln.

Where was Lincoln's case?

Many of Lincoln’s cases were in central Illinois’ Fourteenth Circuit —known as the “mud circuit” for its poor roads. Stopping at county seats, the circuit judge and a traveling band of lawyers would quickly handle pending cases and disputes and then move on to the next town.

Who was Lincoln's partner?

As a young lawyer, Lincoln served as a junior partner in two firms. In 1844 he was ready to take the lead. He invited a young attorney, William Henry Herndon, to form a partnership. The Lincoln and Herndon partnership in Springfield, Illinois, lasted the rest of Lincoln’s life.

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Political Ambitions

Political Success and Strategies

  • Over the next several years, Lincoln worked alongside Stuart as a partner in law. He worked as a trial lawyer and was very proficient at understanding the many nuances of practicing law, such as the language and technicalities involved with typical legal proceedings and filings. This made him adept at performing duties like drafting property deeds,...
See more on online.law.tulane.edu

Taking Political Risks

The Issue of Slavery: 1858 Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Political Motives

  • In 1834, Lincoln ran again for the state legislature, and this time he won. Even the Democrats supported him. His strategy had worked: he issued no platform statement, made no promises, and gave few speeches. Instead, he shook hands, told jokes, and visited nearly every family in the county. He ran and won again in 1836, 1838, and 1840. Once in off...
See more on millercenter.org

A Constitutional, Moral, Or Local Issue?

  • After four terms in the state legislature, Lincoln left office in 1841 but returned to public life in 1846 to win the Whig nomination for a seat from the Illinois seventh congressional district to the U.S. House of Representatives. Ten days after the nomination, America went to war with Mexico. During the months of the campaign, Lincoln said nothing about the Mexican-American War, which allowed him to win the district by a large majority. Once in offic…
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Limited Racial Equality

  • Two years after FrĂ©mont's defeat, Abraham Lincoln won his party's nomination to the U.S. Senate. This put him head-to-head in a race with the powerful Senator Stephen A. Douglas, one of Lincoln's rivals from his days in the Illinois state capital, who was running for a third term as a Democrat. There followed a series of seven debates between Lincoln and Douglas in towns across Illinois over the next seventy days. Several factors helped to attra…
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Overview

  • A leader of the Democratic Party, Douglas had made himself politically vulnerable when he broke with Democratic President James Buchanan and Southern Democrats over the issue of Kansas statehood. Douglas opposed the admission of Kansas as a slave state under the terms of the controversial, proslavery Lecompton constitution. That constitution, which was widely believed to have been the result of voter fraud by Missouri "border ruffians," …
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Prairie lawyer

  • Furthermore, Lincoln charged Douglas with being part of secret cabal to extend slavery to the free states. He boldly announced that slavery was simply immoral and had to be dealt with forthrightly by the U.S. Congress. For Lincoln, slavery violated the fundamental assertion of the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal. He argued that its continued existence and support in the nation ran counter to the wishes of the foundin…
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Family and childhood

  • It was on this last issue of racial equality that Lincoln had the most difficulty in answering Douglas. Lincoln could not easily declare that slavery was immoral and that African Americans were endowed with God-given rights as presented in the Declaration of Independence without leaving himself vulnerable to Douglas's race-baiting attacks. Either African Americans were equal to white Americans, Douglas proclaimed, or they were not. Lincoln answere…
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Early career and militia service

Abraham Lincoln was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War and succeeded in preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government, and modernizing the U.S. economy.
Lincoln was born into poverty in a log cabin in Kentucky and was raised on the frontier, primaril…

Illinois state legislature (1834–1842)

In his Springfield practice, Lincoln handled "every kind of business that could come before a prairie lawyer". Twice a year he appeared for 10 consecutive weeks in county seats in the Midstate county courts; this continued for 16 years. Lincoln handled transportation cases in the midst of the nation's western expansion, particularly river barge conflicts under the many new railroad bridges. As a riverboat man, Lincoln initially favored those interests, but ultimately repr…

U.S. House of Representatives (1847–1849)

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, the second child of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a log cabin on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky. He was a descendant of Samuel Lincoln, an Englishman who migrated from Hingham, Norfolk, to its namesake, Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1638. The family then migrated west, passing through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Lincoln's paternal grandparents, his namesake Captain …

Republican politics (1854–1860)

When Lincoln returned home from the Black Hawk War, he planned to become a blacksmith. He didn't, but he formed a partnership with William Berry, 21, with whom he purchased a general store on credit in New Salem, Illinois. Because a license was required to sell customers single beverages, Berry obtained bartending licenses for $7 each for Lincoln and himself, and in 1833 the store became a tavern as well. As licensed bartenders, Lincoln and Berry were able to sell spirits, including liquor, for 12 cents a pint. They offered a wide range of alcoholic bev…

Presidency (1861–1865)

Lincoln's second state house campaign in 1834, this time as a Whig, was a success over a powerful Whig opponent. Then followed his four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives for Sangamon County. He championed construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal, and later was a Canal Commissioner. He voted to expand suffrage beyond white landowners to all white males, but adopted a "free soil" stance opposing both slavery and abolition. In 1837, he declare…