The Case of Abraham Lincoln: A Story of Adultery, Murder, and the Making of a Great President.

The Case of Abraham Lincoln

By Julie M. Fenster

Nearly 200 years after his birth, Abraham Lincoln is best remembered for his Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation. In this new book, historian Julie M. Fenster explores part of Lincoln's life that is often overlooked--his career as an Illinois lawyer. Fenster covers one year, 1856, a period of exceptional activity for Lincoln. In that year, Lincoln tried many cases throughout Illinois, argued appeals, and campaigned relentlessly against the expansion of slavery. If that wasn't enough, Lincoln participated in a sensational murder trial. Using newspaper and court records, Fenster recreates the criminal trial and shows how the events of 1856 shaped Lincoln.

At 47, Lincoln was a popular and respected attorney. His firm, Lincoln and Herndon, represented many clients including the railroad. Lincoln's cases involved a farmer whose cattle escaped and damaged a neighbor's property, land title disputes dating from the French exploration of Illinois, a step-nephew accused of stealing firearms, and a defrocked priest accused of libel. Debt collection was a dreary yet important part of his practice. In

Lincoln's day, judges and lawyers traveled from city to city, requiring Lincoln to spend three months at a time away from his Springfield home. Lincoln settled many matters over late night meals with his colleagues and was so trusted that when the circuit judge David Davis was away, Lincoln would preside in his court. Despite his success, Lincoln wanted more from life than winning lawsuits. Fenster shows Lincoln lamenting that he was fated to be no more than a debt collector.

As he traveled the Illinois circuit with Judge Davis, Lincoln watched the political scene closely. He saw the issue of slavery splitting the country apart and longed to be part of the action. Having served briefly in the U.S. House of Representatives, Lincoln had a taste for politics, but had been passed over for a Senate seat by the Illinois Legislature. His political party, the Whigs, had collapsed and his electoral career seemed over. Fortunately for Lincoln, while he was busy traveling the court circuit, his law partner, William Herndon, signed him up for a new party, the anti-Nebraskans, who became the Republican Party. Fenster points out that although Lincoln became known as the great emancipator, the Republicans were not abolitionists, but opposed the extension of slavery.

In 1856, the Republicans offered their first candidate for president as well as statewide officers in Illinois. Lincoln spoke extensively for the new party, juggling his court schedule with political events. He chafed when he was stuck in court arguing debt collection cases while major rallies and meetings were occurring.

While Lincoln was occupied with politics and lawsuits, a scandal erupted in Springfield. A blacksmith was poisoned and then bludgeoned to death. Prosecutors believed that his wife and nephew were having an adulterous relationship and had plotted the murder. Doctors were convinced that the blacksmith had been the victim of strychnine poisoning and investigators found a bottle of the poison in the nephew's possessions. Illinois newspapers hired their own court reporters and covered every word of the trial. Both the prosecution and defense sought Lincoln's services, but Lincoln joined the defense team, perhaps because he believed in the defendants' innocence or because he knew the defense lawyers from Springfield.

Thanks to Fenster's access to the transcript, Lincoln's skills as a lawyer are clear. Lincoln saw that the only chance for acquittal came from focusing the jury on the act of murder and not the adultery. He successfully argued that since the defendants weren't charged with adultery but with homicide, evidence of their relationship should be excluded.

The trial ended in an acquittal that was debated for years. While Lincoln's role was important, many observers felt the result was due to a prosecutor's blunder. In closing arguments he mistakenly pointed out a defense lawyer and demanded that the jury convict him of the crime.

Fenster's work ends with the elections of 1856 and the murder trial that captivated Illinois. While Lincoln's time as president has been covered extensively, she has found an area of Lincoln's life that is still relatively unknown. Engaging and well researched, The Case of Abraham Lincoln is just in time for his 200th birthday and is available from Palgrave MacMillan for $24.95.

David Mandell is a member of the Florida and Connecticut bars from Norwich, Conn., practicing disability and real estate law.