Lincoln, Douglas, and Speed

[Liz Rosenthal]

(03-27-2014 09:17 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I know that Lincoln went against Stanton in the Manny vs. McCormick Reaper Case held in Cincinnati, but what about Douglas vs. Lincoln on the legal matters?

Just a little point of information. Lincoln and Stanton were not on opposing sides in that litigation. Lincoln had been under the impression that he was on the Manny defense team and had, in fact, been hired for the purpose. However, in between the time he was retained, when he did some investigating of Manny's invention and wrote a legal brief and the time he showed up in Cincinnati to join the defense, the attorneys who had initially sought his assistance decided they didn't need him anymore but didn't bother to tell him. So when he showed up in Cincinnati, he found Stanton heading the defense and being openly hostile to him. Lincoln was ostracized from the other defense lawyers and even overheard Stanton referring to him as follows: "What is that long-armed ape doing here?" I know that this story isn't relevant to the question of whether Lincoln and Douglas opposed each other in a legal case in upstate New York, but the little episode does provide insight into Lincoln's remarkable character.

Lincoln's Cincinnati experience hurt his feelings enormously. Stanton was truly a [insert expletive here] to Lincoln, and most people, just because they're human, probably would never have forgiven him. There are plenty of people in political life who would have thenceforth considered him a political enemy and never have associated with him even if they agreed on the issues. Yet, somehow, Lincoln got past his hurt feelings and, because he admired Stanton's abilities, appointed him Secretary of War to replace the corrupt and incompetent Cameron. This was a truly great decision.

That's our Lincoln!