File:Lincoln, the lawyer (1906) (14763688122).jpg

Identifier: lincolnlawy1762hillin (find matches)
Title: Lincoln, the lawyer
Year: 1906 (1900s)
Authors: Hill, Frederick Trevor, 1866-1930
Subjects: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 Lawyers Presidents
Publisher: New York : Century Co.
Contributing Library: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
Digitizing Sponsor: The Institute of Museum and Library Services through an Indiana State Library LSTA Grant

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news reached him, and JudgeDickey, one of his fellow-practitioners, who wassharing his room in the local tavern at the time,reports that Lincoln sat on the edge of his bedand discussed the political situation far into thenight. At last Dickey fell asleep, but when heawoke in the morning, Lincoln was sitting up inbed, deeply absorbed in thought. I tell you,Dickey, he observed, as though continuing theargument of the previous evening, this nationcannot exist half-slave and half-free. This is probably the first time Lincoln everused the phrase which was destined to become sofamous in later years, and shortly afterward hemade his first direct answer to one of Douglassspeeches supporting the Missouri Compromiserepeal, and the great duel of debate began. Tosay that the general public was surprised by theforce and effectiveness of Lincolns attack is toput the matter very mildly. It was fairly aston-ished, and the most amazed man in the communitywas probably Judge Douglas himself. He had 264
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Judge Stephen A. Douglas LAW IN THE DEBATE been absorbed with his duties in the UnitedStates Senate for the past seven years, andLincoln, hard at work with court duties, had vir-tually disappeared from his view. He had knownhim as a local practitioner and effective stump-speaker and country attorney, but he was notprepared for the logical, lawyer-like arraignmentto which he found himself subjected, and aftertwo more encounters with this new antagonist, hecalled a truce, proposing that neither he nor Lin-coln should make any more speeches during therest of the fall campaign. To this Lincoln as-sented, returning to his law practice; and thusended the first skirmish of what was destined tobe one of the most notable debates of history. Lincoln kept steadily at his court work untilthe fall of that year, when he decided that to doeffective service in the campaign against the ex-tension of slavery he would have to reenterpolitics, and, being nominated for the IllinoisAssembly, he made the ne

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