America's lawyer-presidents : from law office to Oval Office / edited by Norman Gross ; with a foreword by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Gross, Norman.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lawyers--United States--Biography.

Lawyers.

United States.

Presidents--United States--Biography.

Presidents.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xix, 371 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 27 cm

Edition:

Updated edition.

Place of Publication:

Chicago, Ill. : ABA Museum of Law ; Evanston, Ill. : Northwestern University Press, 2009.

Summary:

New chapter on Barack Obama by Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree

New chapter featuring notable lawyers who fell just short in their quests for the presidency

New preface by ABA Executive Director Henry White Jr.

Updates on Supreme Court justices, attorneys general, and solicitors general

The historic election of Barack Obama as forty-fourth President of the United States also marks the twenty-sixth instance that a lawyer has held the office. America's Lawyer-Presidents sheds new light on the legal backgrounds of these chief executives and how their legal experiences shaped their presidencies. John Adams, the first lawyer-president, combined a twenty-year law practice with significant contributions to our nation's founding charters. His son, John Quincy Adams, argued landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases before and after his presidency. He was one of eight lawyer-presidents to appear as counsel before the highest court in the land. One of America's most beloved and admired presidents, Abraham Lincoln, was involved in more than 5,100 cases during his twenty-five-year legal career, while Rutherford Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, and other lawyer-presidents gained fame handling sensational murder trials and similarly high-profile cases. These are but a few of the fascinating and largely forgotten stories brought to light in this unrivaled single-volume resource. Anyone interested in presidential history, legal history, and politics in general will find America's Lawyer-Presidents necessary reading.

Contents:

Founding Fathers and Sons

Law in Colonial America / Lawrence M. Friedman 4

John Adams: Patriot Lawyer / L. Kinvin Wroth 6

Thomas Jefferson: Legal Wordsmith / David T. Konig 18

James Monroe: Occasional Lawyer / Daniel Preston 30

John Quincy Adams: Eloquent Advocate / Howard Jones 40

Antebellum Presidents

Law in Antebellum America / Lawrence M. Friedman 50

Andrew Jackson: Frontier Justice / David S. Heidler, Jeanne T. Heidler 52

Martin Van Buren: Boy Lawyer / James A. Henretta 64

John Tyler: Virginia Counsel / E. Lee Shepard 76

James K. Polk: Sometime Lawyer / Robert W. Johannsen 86

Millard Fillmore: Lawyer Mentor / Elbert B. Smith 96

Franklin Pierce: Courtroom Orator / Christopher M. Johnson 106

James Buchanan: Strict Constructionist / Jean H. Baker 116

Lawyer Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln: Prairie Lawyer / Paul Finkelman 128

Selected Cases of A. Lincoln, Esq., Attorney and Counsellor-at-Law / John A. Lupton 138

Lincoln's Notes for a Law Lecture 146

Gilded Age Presidents

Law in the Gilded Age / Lawrence M. Friedman 150

Rutherford B. Hayes: Volunteer Counsel / Ari Hoogenboom 152

James A. Garfield: Supreme Court Counsel / Allan Peskin 164

Chester A. Arthur: War Claims Lawyer / Thomas C. Reeves 174

Grover Cleveland: An Honest Lawyer / Eugene C. Gerhart 184

Benjamin Harrison: High-Priced Counsel / Allen Sharp 194

William McKinley: A Good Lawyer / Lewis L. Gould 206

New Century Presidents

Law in the New Century / Lawrence M. Friedman 216

William Howard Taft: Mr. Chief Justice / Melvyn Dubofsky 218

Woodrow Wilson: Reluctant Lawyer / Melvin I. Urofsky 230

Calvin Coolidge: Country Lawyer / Russell Fowler 240

Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Contrarian Counselor / Jerome J. Shestack 252

The Modern Presidency

Law in Modern America / Lawrence M. Friedman 264

Richard M. Nixon: Bicoastal Practitioner / Irwin F. Gellman 266

Gerald R. Ford: All-American Counsel / David Horrocks 278

William Jefferson Clinton: Political Lawyer / David H. Bennett 290

Barack Obama: Community Organizer / Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. 300

Almost Lawyer-Presidents / Lewis L. Gould 312

Presidential Appointments

Supreme Court Justices and Chief Government Lawyers

Lawyer-Presidents and Their Supreme Court Appointments / Barbara A. Perry 326

Supreme Court Appointments 335

Lawyer-Presidents and Their Attorneys (General) / Cornell W. Clayton 339

Attorney General Appointments 352

Solicitor General Appointments 354.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [357]-360) and index.

ISBN:

9780810126183

0810126184

OCLC:

318428570