Customer Reviews

Lincoln the Lawyer

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Although Lincoln's contribution to history is his handling of public policy, governance, and war, probably most of his time prior to the White House was devoted to his law practice. This book will reward anyone seeking to know how one of America's greatest minds was occupied in the troubled affairs of one ordinary person after another. The solid account is highly knowledgeable but not at all technical, written for inquiring readers rather than legal professionals. Using assorted cases as examples, the author examines the role of attorneys in what was then the American West, giving the book broader scope than just Lincoln's law practice. This is one of the first studies to exploit a recently collected mass of documents relating to Lincoln's law career.

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most written about Presidents in American history. Every facet, one would think, has been covered many times over. That said, his 25-year legal career is woefully underrepresented in the biographical literature. Author Brian Dirck examines Lincoln's substantial time as a lawyer and in doing so gives Lincoln scholars substantial insight into the career that was nearly half of his life.

Dirck takes us back in time to a period in history before the American Bar Association, formal legal training, and the emphasis on legal precedent. In Lincoln's time one could become a lawyer by showing some scholarship and convincing the local judge that you were "honest" and "of good moral character." Frontier lawyers (as Illinois at the time was "in the west") were more rustic than their eastern counterparts, and not always as well regarded. But Lincoln was a successful and busy lawyer. Dirck gives us a flavor of Lincoln's love of the circuit, the traveling road show of lawyers and judges that for months on end would move around the various rural districts to deliver justice. The camaraderie between Lincoln and his fellow jurists is well described.

In large part Lincoln's legal career was rather mundane. While there are the occasional high profile cases (e.g., the Almanac trial), the vast majority of his thousands of cases were of the debt collection variety. Petty (at least by our modern standards) cases of promissory notes unpaid, divorces, and breach of contract abounded. While many post-presidency recollections by others of Lincoln's grandiose legal career were common, the reality is that most of his career was unremarkable. He had lots of business and made a comfortable living, but as Dirck remarks, Lincoln was "a middle class lawyer," not some obvious prophetic attorney clearly destined for greatness. In contrast to the dry middle sections where Dirck recounts Lincoln's caseload, the chapter "Storytelling" shows how his career seemed much greater post-mortem than in reality. That chapter and the next "Grease" are exceptionally insightful and interesting.

In Grease, Dirck adds his own perspective to show how Lincoln learned in his legal career to facilitate resolution, i.e., to apply grease to the gears in order to keep things running smoothly. This concept is summed up best perhaps by Lincoln himself in his "Notes for a Law Lecture" in which he states that lawyers should "Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser - in fees, expenses, and waste of time. As a peacemaker the lawyer has a superior opportunity for being a good man. There will still be business enough." Dirck goes on to draw parallels between the lessons Lincoln learned during his legal career - compromise, lack of animosity, hard work, facilitating resolution by "greasing" to dissipate friction - and the way in which he managed one of the most difficult and brutal times in our history.

While not a quick or particularly riveting read despite its relative brevity (about 175 pages of text), the insights into Lincoln's thinking gained from this are well worth the time. Dirck has clearly researched this book well, and we are all the more knowledgeable for it.

I think this book should appeal to several audiences of readers. I am not a Lincolnholic, but there are zillions of folks who are, as demonstrated by the mountains of Lincoln books and articles. They should find this personalized view of Lincoln of interest. For myself, I am interested in the development of American law, and there are relatively few books that involve the pre-Civil War period of legal practice. That is the primary focus of this book and this is a second dimension of its value. Certainly there are a number of books out on Lincoln as a lawyer; this is the first one to be based in part on the Lincoln Legal Papers ("LLP") project which sought to locate and incorporate every piece of documentation relating to Lincoln's law practice. A huge CD-ROM of 5,000 cases resulted, as well as a 4-volume printed edition issued by the University of Virginia Press.

The book begins with an explanation of how Lincoln became a lawyer in the first place and what he hoped to accomplish by so doing--basically, a solid and comfortable middle class existence. So initially we see how the ethos of Jacksonian democracy made it relatively painless (in comparison to what I had to go through) to join the bar. The printed resources that Lincoln learned to rely upon are discussed, as well as how new lawyers in these developing areas formed partnerships and opened offices. The author then moves on to a series of individual chapters on the particular areas of Lincoln's practice. Mostly it was debt collection involving promissory notes. The author effective relates Lincoln's outlook to that of the evolving market economy driven by enterpreneuers and new technology. Lincoln was a big believer in internal improvements, railroads, and minimal restrictions on economic growth. Other practice areas are discussed including probate, criminal law (not too much involvement), partnership dissolutions, and Lincoln as a mediator and arbitrator. How Lincoln conducted himself in and out of court is another theme.

The author wraps up his book with a most interesting discussion, which may upset some Lincoln students but which I found most interesting. How does the real Lincoln the lawyer compare to the often mythological portrayals of Lincoln in the literature? Basically, the author concludes that Lincoln was not a "superlawyer," was not particularly distinguished, but much as President Obama rated his own performance overseas, Lincoln did "ok." He was successful, a good competent lawyer, but that was about it. The author also disputes that there are ties between Lincoln the lawyer and Lincoln the president--some have suggested this in connection with the Emancipation Proclamation. This very useful volume is supported by 34 pages of notes and a solid bibliography. A valuable introduction to Lincoln the man and the lawyer.

Dirck tries to do two things here. First he tries to assess Lincoln's law practice in the context of its time and place. Second he tries to evaluate what effect the practice had on Lincoln, both in how the practice suited Lincoln's personality and how it may have helped shape it. He does well on the first task and not so well on the second.

Dirck paints a clear picture of the typical law practice of the day and shows that Lincoln's practice was not much different, except that he was more successful at it than many others. Lincoln had a general practice covering all of the legal areas of the time but largely concentrated on civil cases, most of which were claims for money owed (often on simple IOU's). There were a relatively few forays into criminal law, mostly (with but a few exceptions) minor crimes. In his practice Lincoln was neither a champion of the downtrodden nor a simple tool of corporate interests. Lincoln represented whoever happened to hire him and used all the tools available to a skilled and honest lawyer: Procedural rules, courtroom drama, legal knowledge and persuasive oratory. Lincoln, like all lawyers then and now, also spent a lot of time trying to settle cases before trial. Dirck speaks of this as "grease" (for the system) and seems to suggest that lawyers of the day were conscious of the system's need for "grease" and that Lincoln made special efforts to conciliate disputes. He offers, however, little hard evidence that Lincoln differed significantly from his colleagues in this respect.

Dirck also argues that law was especially congenial to Lincoln because it fit neatly into what Dirck sees as salient aspects of Lincoln's personality (such as his reserve, tendency to avoid commitment, his dislike of conflict, his supposed love of conciliation and so on). Most of what we know, or think we know, of these supposed traits is based on anecdotes gathered by one of Lincoln's former law partners, William Herndon. The testimony was all given after Lincoln's death and apotheosis and is all anecdotal as well as subjective. Here I think Dirck spins too easily into amateur psychologizing. The evidence for the conclusions is thin.

Dirck's prose style is quite clear but very plain. He does not seem to have great legal knowledge. He describes a contract case, for example, as having been won on a "technicality" when it was dismissed for lack of "consideration," a legal notion that goes to the essence of contract law because it describes the exchange that makes the bargain. Dirck's book provides a useful overview of Lincoln's actual practice, devoid of myth but not compelling in style.

Brian Dirck's Lincoln the Lawyer is a "must read" for scholars and pleasure readers alike. Dirck, an Anderson University professor, takes his readers from the shock a Sangamon County farmer expressed when he learned Lincoln was studying law to Lincoln's final days as an attorney in his law office across the street from the Old State Capitol in Springfield.

That journey took Lincoln through three partnerships,through courts in Springfield and the Eighth Judicial Circuit and in front of the Illinois and United States Supreme Courts. By the time Lincoln left for Washington, this self-taught lawyer was one of the most respected in the state. His cases ranged from property disputes and divorces to murders and large railroad cases. Fees he received ranged from $10 or less to the $5,000 fee he received representing the Illinois Central Railroad in their dispute with McLean County, Ill. over taxes assessed the railroad. To understand Lincoln, you must understand this important period in his life. This book will fill that need.

Dirck is an academic and his book meets all the criteria of a scholarly volume - well researched, indexed, well cited - yet at no time as a reader do you feel as if you're wading through an academic work that's way over your head. Dirck's book is a comfortable, entertaining read. He's a gifted writer and a scrupulous scholar.

In my book, Dirck's is a must for anyone who really wants to understand those 25 years and the longest career in Lincoln's life.

What do YOU do all day?

This book is an illustration of the very important philosophic points made in its own the last chapters. We assume the almost superhuman character of Abe Lincoln and then we view - or interperate - the various instances of his law career (in fact, his career in general) thru that lens.

Better we should consider what he actually did all day for most of his working life,and it was a real working job, and see what that can tell us about what his character might have been like. This book really gives you a feel for what his everyday life was like...and he WAS a work-a-day lawyer! I've read a lot of Lincoln bios, this is very, very informative. Dry as dust sometimes, but an A+.

Oh,bonus,gives you a working knowledge of the nuts and bolts of the operation of American law at the time. It clears up why there seem to have been so many lawsuits; for one reason, there was no freely available currency, so many transactions were contractual.

All to often, books about great historical figures tend to overemphasize the personality of the figure and forget the essence of the person to history. Also, many authors and historians research a historical figure and find that he is not who the legend claims he is. There is tendency to find this information out and then to immediately start disparaging the figure almost as if the person is taking a personal affront to the real person not being half of the myth.

Thomas Jefferson probably father children with Sally Hemmings beyond a reasonable doubt. John F. Kennedy was a reckless womanizer. These facts do not however change what these people did and achieved. It makes for interesting fodder, but it does not change the fact that the Declaration of Independence was written and the Cuban Missile Crisis was averted. So, there is a trap anytime writers take up great figures. Dirck could have fallen into this trap when writing about Lincoln the lawyer. That the author did not do this is a testament to what an outstanding book this is. This is indeed the no frills Lincoln. Dirck's Lincoln is not a great lawyer nor is a terrible lawyer who represented slaveholders. For the most part, Lincoln the lawyer is closer in truth to the advice Lincoln gave to young lawyers which is cited several times in the book. Lincoln made a comfortable life as a lawyer but as the author points out, he never was unscrupulous in representing a client and was diligent and honest in his dealings through the bar in Springfield and elsewhere.

As Dirck points out, the everyday of lawyering in mid-19th century America was just as exciting as lawyering is today. Wills, Estates, Trusts, debt collection, surety, personal injuries and maybe a smattering of criminal representation was Lincoln's lot in the world of the bar. Overall, Lincoln The Lawyer is a great appraisal of the world that Lincoln knew before anyone could say that he belonged to the ages.