Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-249) and index.
Summary
Documents the events surrounding a mid-nineteenth-century Springfield blacksmith's murder trial that would define Abraham Lincoln's legal career, evaluating how the case reflected the beliefs of the time and placed Lincoln in the national spotlight.
Contents
Foreword: Lincoln in his element / by Dr. Douglas Brinkley -- March, 1856 : like a cathedral -- April : at the anvil -- The beginning of May : stranger in the yard -- Early May : something about strychnine -- May 15 : the old man went out -- Mid-May : excitement in the city -- Late May : an old battered stovepipe hat -- May 29 : Major's Hall -- June : summer days -- July and August : the march of the what-y'a-call-ems -- September : boarding men -- October and November : a motive equal to murder -- November and early December : the best hope of the nation.