Law 792:  Lincoln's Law Practice

This class is about the daily professional life of a nineteenth century circuit-riding attorney named Abraham Lincoln. Obviously, the man who sat in the White House was heavily influenced by the one who sat in a saddle on the Eighth Judicial Circuit, but this class is only concerned with the latter. Because of his presidency, nearly every day of Lincoln’s earlier professional life has been documented; this allows us a unique look into his profession. The digitization of documents from nearly every case he worked on allows us to see how a lawyer of his stature went about daily life – and how he, in particular, practiced law. What was the practice of law in mid-century Illinois like? How did it differ from that in, say, Boston, or New York, or even St. Louis? What was it like to ride the circuit? Study law? Take the bar?

Sequence and Prerequisites: None

Evaluation:   This class will be graded on participation and a single, final paper dealing with some aspect of Lincoln’s law practice. Upper Level Writing credit.