Editing Abraham Lincoln (section)

=== 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}}