Lincoln`s legal career began as a hobby of visiting courthouses to hear examples of great oratory speeches. He soon read legal books, and in 1836 he passed an oral examination conducted by a panel of lawyers and received his licentiate from the bar. Although he was often criticized for his lack of technical knowledge, Lincoln diligently pursued his business, for which he was often rewarded. Learn more about Lincoln`s legal training. Abraham Lincoln was an attorney general who handled civil and criminal matters and provided some of the best legal representation at the time because of his good moral behavior. You may want to believe that the former Springfield lawyer and President of the United States graduated from Harvard Law School. However, he never really received formal legal training and legal documents like a JD. As a young man, Abraham Lincoln worked on his father`s farm. This experience gave him an understanding of hard work and perseverance, even if the hard work didn`t match his personality or ambition to become something bigger. After becoming a young adult and moving to Illinois, he and a partner bought a business that was later shut down. Lincoln was stuck with most of the debt, but was determined to pay it off honestly. He tried his hand at the western part of the United States, but it also became a job he didn`t like and in which he didn`t succeed.
He decided to try a career as a lawyer, but instead of studying law, Lincoln was self-taught. He studied rigorously by reading a large selection of earlier legal cases and law books, and in 1836, at the age of 25, he received his licentiate in the bar. He began drafting legal forms and simple cases, but in 1837 he became a partner of a local lawyer named John T. Stuart. This partnership taught him a more practical approach to the handling of legal cases, judges and the judicial system. NOVEMBER 12, 1831 Writes the first known legal document for a friend of New Salem CASE 1834 Borrows law books from John Todd Stuart and studies in New Salem March 24, 1836 First step toward obtaining a lawyer`s license in Sangamon County SEPTEMBER 9, 1836 Obtains the license to practice law in all courts of the state of Illinois March 1, 1837 Name on the list of lawyers in the office of the Illinois Supreme Court APRIL 15, 1837 Moved to Springfield, Illinois to practice law with John Todd Stuart OCTOBER 12, 1838 Successful representation of the murderous accused Henry Truett (People v. Truett) 23. SEPTEMBER 1839 Beginning of practice as a lawyer in the Eighth Judicial Circuit of Illinois December 3, 1839 Admission to the District Courts of the United States June 18, 1840 Pleads his first of many cases before the Supreme Court of Illinois April 14, 1841 End of the legal partnership with John Stuart; Stephen T. Logan`s partner on March 1, 1842 admitted to U.S. District Court DECEMBER 1844 Dissolution of the company with Stephen Logan; accepts William H. Herndon as junior partner OCTOBER 16, 1847 Appears for plaintiffs in fugitive slave case (Bryant et al.
v. Matson) MARCH 7, 1849 Admission to the Supreme Court of the United States and only oral hearing on February 28, 1854 Representation of the railroad before the Illinois Supreme Court (Illinois Central RR v. County of McLean) 19 – 26 SEPTEMBER 1855 Attends trial in Cincinnati, Ohio, (McCormick v. Manny), but Edwin Stanton prevents his participation 1. DECEMBER 1856 Replaced by David Davis as judge of the Sangamon County District Court March 31, 1857 Assistance in prosecuting murder cases in which the accused alleged insanity (People v. Wyant) June 18, 1857 Receives $5,000 in the Illinois Central Railroad case, but had to sue to obtain it on September 8, 1857 Present at the opening of the “Effie Afton” steamboat trial (Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Co.) MAY 7, 1858 Use the Almanac to free Duff Armstrong from murder (People v. Armstrong) SEPTEMBER 3, 1859 Acquitted of Peter Cartwright`s grandson for murder (People v. Harrison) January 21, 1862 Appointed Noah H. Swayne of Ohio Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States July 16, 1862 Appointed Samuel F. Miller of Iowa Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States October 17, 1862 Appointment of David Davis of Illinois as Associate Justice 21 of the United States Supreme Court.
FEBRUARY 1863 Appointed Stephen J. Field of California as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States October 15, 1864 Attends the funeral of Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington December 6, 1864 Appointment of Salmon P. Chase of Ohio as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Chronology Sources: The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler and others; Lincoln Day by Day edited by Earl Miers In 1834, Abraham attracted the attention of a lawyer named John Stuart, who gave Lincoln many legal books to study and encouraged him to learn the profession. As brilliant as Lincoln was, in 3 years, the solid Mr. John Stuart joined as a partner in his law firm. As his legal career grew, Stuart became a member of the Bar Association, received his licentiate in 1836, and began his practice of law. By 1838, Stuart had become a representative of the General Assembly, with Illinois County confirming his election to the Illinois Legislature. Over the next few years, Lincoln worked with Stuart as a legal partner.
He worked as a litigator and was very good at understanding the many nuances of legal practice, such as the language and technical details associated with typical court proceedings and filings. This made him adept at performing tasks such as drafting property titles, processing taxes, and assisting residents with simple legal advice.
