Lincoln Law Cases

Matthew Isoda
Jamieson Elementary School, Chicago

Abraham Lincoln learned to think and work with a deliberate simplicity in his law practice; that trait helped him later on in his political life. Abraham Lincoln received his law license on September 26, 1836, even though he had no formal training. He read books borrowed from his friends such as John T. Stuart, one of his future law partners. His law career started in Springfield, where he moved on April 15, 1837. From these humble beginnings, he became a reputable lawyer.

Lincoln's ability to get his point across with simple reasoning served him well as a lawyer. One case in particular is very instructive. Two farmers said they each owned a colt. The first farmer had thirty witnesses who said they knew the colt belonged to that farmer. The second farmer had thirty-four witnesses who said they knew the colt belonged to the other farmer. What should Lincoln do to resolve this stalemate? He had both farmers bring their mares. The mare that the colt went to, Lincoln declared, must be the mother of the colt, and so the owner of the mare must also own the colt. This direct and simple argument was too strong to be denied; Lincoln won the case. Lincoln made use of simplicity as an instrumental tool in winning cases.

Another instance of this was a case in which Lincoln successfully defended William "Duff" Armstrong, the son of friends of Lincoln who used to live in New Salem. Armstrong and a friend, James H. Norris had been accused of striking and killing a friend, James Preston Metzker, after a brawl in Beardstown, Illinois. Norris was quickly sentenced to eight years in prison, but there was doubt as to whether or not Armstrong struck another blow. A witness said that between 10 and 11 P.M. on the night of the attack, he saw Armstrong hit Norris. This was a substantial charge. To counter it, Lincoln produced an almanac that showed that the moon had already set; thus the witness was proven wrong, and his testimony was disregarded. Even though later there were accusations that the

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almanac was fake, Lincoln had used his simple tactics to save a friend from going to jail.

The skillful use of simple information with which Lincoln won his cases in court helped him to pass bills in the state legislature, and later as president to secure congressional backing. If you can convince a large group of people that you are right, especially in politics, you will do well and reach your goal. It was Lincoln's simple and direct approach that made him understandable to a wide spectrum of people. This also earned him recognition that helped him get elected to office, where he could do more good. As a speech maker his effective use of well-stated, simple language allowed him to write the Gettysburg Address, which is still famous. In a short speech, he was able to convey his thoughts well. As Lincoln must have found, the simpler you make something, the harder it is to be proven wrong and be disagreed with. This and other factors made him successful and as famous as we now know him to be.—[From Paul M. Angle, The Lincoln Reader; Roy P. Basler, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln; Albert J. Beveridge, Abraham Lincoln 1809-1858; Carl Sandburg, The Prairie Years and the War Years; Ida M. Tarbell, The Life of Abraham Lincoln, vol. 1.]

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