Editing Abraham Lincoln (section)

== Early political offices and prairie lawyer ==
=== Illinois state legislature (1834–1842) ===
[[File:Abes House.JPG|thumb|Lincoln's [[Lincoln Home National Historic Site|home]] in [[Springfield, Illinois]], where he resided from 1844 until becoming [[president of the United States|president]] in 1861]]
Lincoln's second state house campaign in 1834, this time as a [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]], was a success over a powerful Whig opponent.{{sfn|White|2009|p=59}} He served four terms in the [[Illinois House of Representatives]] for [[Sangamon County]].{{sfn|Simon|1990|p=283}} As a representative, he championed construction of the [[Illinois and Michigan Canal]].{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|loc=v. 1 p. 102}} Lincoln voted to expand suffrage beyond White landowners to all White men, but opposed both slavery and [[abolitionism in the United States|abolition]].{{sfn|Simon|1990|p=130}} He echoed [[Henry Clay]]'s support for the [[American Colonization Society]], which advocated abolition in conjunction with settling freed slaves in [[Liberia]].{{sfn|Foner|2010|p=17–19, 67}}

Lincoln was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted]] to the Illinois bar on September 9, 1836.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iardc.org/Lawyer/PrintableDetails/b838e3e7-a864-eb11-b810-000d3a9f4eeb |title=Abraham Lincoln |publisher=Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission|accessdate=July 2, 2023 |archivedate=July 2, 2023 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702123429/https://www.iardc.org/Lawyer/PrintableDetails/b838e3e7-a864-eb11-b810-000d3a9f4eeb |url-status=dead}}</ref> He moved to Springfield and began to practice law under [[John T. Stuart]], Mary Todd's cousin.{{sfn|White|2009|pp=71, 79, 108}} He partnered for several years with [[Stephen T. Logan]] and, in 1844, began [[Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site|his practice]] with [[William Herndon (lawyer)|William Herndon]], a "studious young man".{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=88&ndash;101}}

On January 27, 1838, Lincoln delivered [[Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum address|a major speech at the Lyceum]] in Springfield, after the murder of the anti-slavery newspaper editor [[Elijah Parish Lovejoy]]. Lincoln denounced the "mobocratic spirit ... now abroad in the land", indirectly attacking [[Stephen Douglas]], the Democratic Party, and anti-abolitionism.{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|loc=v. 1 pp. 140–142}} He was criticized in the press for a planned duel with [[James Shields (politician, born 1806)|James Shields]], whom he had ridiculed in letters published under the name "Aunt Rebecca"; though the duel ultimately did not take place, "the affair embarrassed Lincoln terribly".{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|loc=v. 1 pp. 190–194}}

===U.S. House of Representatives (1847–1849)===

Lincoln professed to friends in 1861 to be "an old line Whig, a disciple of Henry Clay".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=222}} Their party favored economic modernization in banking, tariffs to fund [[internal improvements]] such as railroads, and urbanization.{{sfn|Boritt|Pinsker|2002|pp=137–153}} In 1843, Lincoln sought the Whig nomination for [[Illinois's 7th congressional district|Illinois's 7th district seat]] in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]; [[John J. Hardin]] was the successful candidate, though Lincoln prevailed with the party in limiting Hardin to one term.{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|loc=v. 1 pp. 215–218}} Lincoln not only pulled off his strategy of gaining the nomination in 1846, but also won the election.{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|loc=v. 1 pp. 231–241}} The only Whig in the Illinois delegation, he was assigned to the [[United States House Committee on Post Office and Post Roads|Committee on Post Office and Post Roads]] and the [[United States House Committee on Expenditures in the War Department|Committee on Expenditures in the War Department]].{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|loc=v. 1 pp. 263&ndash;265}} Lincoln teamed with [[Joshua R. Giddings]] on a bill to abolish slavery in the [[Washington, District of Columbia|District of Columbia]], but dropped the bill when it eluded Whig support.{{sfnm|Harris|2007|1p=54|Foner|2010|2p=57}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lincoln, Abraham |url=https://history.house.gov/People/Listing/L/LINCOLN,-Abraham-(L000313)/ |accessdate=July 1, 2022 |website=History, Art & Archives|publisher=United States House of Representatives }}</ref>

Lincoln spoke against the [[Mexican–American War]], for which he said President [[James K. Polk]] "had some strong motive ... to involve the two countries in a war, and trusting to escape scrutiny, by fixing the public gaze upon the exceeding brightness of military glory—that attractive rainbow, that rises in showers of blood".{{sfnm|1a1=Heidler|1a2=Heidler|1y=2006|1pp=181–183|2a1=Greenberg|2y=2012|2pp=250&ndash;251}} He supported the [[Wilmot Proviso]], a failed proposal to ban slavery in any U.S. territory won from Mexico.{{sfn|Holzer|2004|p=63}} Lincoln emphasized his opposition to Polk by drafting and introducing his [[Spot Resolutions]]. Polk insisted that Mexican soldiers had begun the war by "invading the territory of the State of Texas ... and shedding the blood of our citizens on our own soil";{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|loc=v. 1 p. 265}} Lincoln demanded that Polk tell Congress the exact spot, "implying that this spot was actually Mexican soil".<ref name=anb/> His approach cost Lincoln political support in his district, and newspapers derisively nicknamed him "spotty Lincoln".<ref name=anb/>

Lincoln had pledged in 1846 to serve only one term in the House.{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=124}} Realizing Henry Clay was unlikely to win the presidency, he supported General [[Zachary Taylor]] for the Whig nomination in the [[1848 United States presidential election|1848 presidential election]].{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=122&ndash;130}} Taylor won and Lincoln hoped in vain to be appointed Commissioner of the [[United States General Land Office]].{{sfnm|Donald|1996|1pp=138&ndash;140|Burlingame|2008|2loc=v. 1 pp. 296&ndash;303}} The administration offered to appoint him secretary of the [[Oregon Territory]] instead.{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|loc=v. 1 pp. 305&ndash;307}} This would have disrupted his legal and political career in Illinois, so he declined and resumed his law practice.{{sfn|Harris|2007|pp=55–57}}

===Prairie lawyer===
{{See also|List of cases involving Abraham Lincoln}}
In his Springfield practice, Lincoln handled "virtually every kind of business that could come before a prairie lawyer".{{sfn|Donald|1996|p=96}} He dealt with many transportation cases in the midst of the nation's western expansion, particularly river barge conflicts under the new railroad bridges. As a [[riverboat]] man, Lincoln initially favored those interests, but he represented whoever hired him.{{sfnm|Donald|1996|1pp=156–157|Burlingame|2008|2loc=v. 1 p. 253}} He represented a bridge company against a riverboat company in ''[[Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company]]'', a landmark case involving a canal boat that sank after hitting a bridge.{{sfn|McGinty|2015}} In 1849 he received [[Abraham Lincoln's patent|a patent for a flotation device]] for the movement of boats in shallow water. The idea was never commercialized, but it made Lincoln the only president to hold a patent.{{sfn|Emerson|2009|pp=27&ndash;28}} Lincoln appeared before the Illinois Supreme Court in 411 cases.{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|loc=v. 1 p. 186}} From 1853 to 1860, one of his largest clients was the [[Illinois Central Railroad]].{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=155–156, 196–197}}

Lincoln represented William "Duff" Armstrong in his 1858 trial for the murder of James Preston Metzker.{{sfn|Donald|1996|pp=150–151}} The case is famous for Lincoln's use of a fact established by [[judicial notice]] to challenge the credibility of an eyewitness. After a witness testified to seeing the crime in the moonlight, Lincoln produced a ''[[Farmers' Almanac]]'' showing the Moon was at a low angle, drastically reducing visibility. Armstrong was acquitted.{{sfnm|Donald|1996|pp=150–151|Burlingame|2008|2loc=v. 1 pp. 345&ndash;346}} In an 1859 murder case, he defended "Peachy" Quinn Harrison, the grandson of [[Peter Cartwright (revivalist)|Peter Cartwright]], Lincoln's political opponent.{{sfn|Burlingame|2008|loc=v. 1 p. 560}} Harrison was charged with the murder of Greek Crafton who, according to Cartwright, said as he lay dying that he had "brought it upon myself" and that he forgave Harrison.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Mitgang |first1=Herbert |date=February 10, 1989 |title=The law; Lincoln as lawyer: transcript tells murder story |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/10/nyregion/the-law-lincoln-as-lawyer-transcript-tells-murder-story.html}}</ref> Lincoln angrily protested the judge's initial decision to exclude Cartwright's claim as [[hearsay]]. Lincoln argued that the testimony involved a [[dying declaration]] and so was not subject to the hearsay rule. Instead of holding Lincoln in [[Contempt of court#United States|contempt of court]] as expected, the judge, a Democrat, admitted the testimony into evidence, resulting in Harrison's acquittal.{{sfnm|Donald|1996|1pp=150–151|Burlingame|2008|2loc=v. 1 p. 560}}