Lincoln's forgotten friend, Leonard Swett / Robert S. Eckley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Eckley, Robert S.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Swett, Leonard, 1825-1889.

Swett, Leonard.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865--Friends and associates.

Lincoln, Abraham.

Lawyers--Illinois--Biography.

Lawyers.

Bloomington (Ill.)--Biography.

Bloomington (Ill.).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (338 p.)

Place of Publication:

Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In 1849, while traveling as an attorney on the Eighth Judicial Circuit in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln befriended Leonard Swett (1825 89), a fellow attorney sixteen years his junior. Despite this age difference, the two men built an enduring friendship that continued until Lincoln s assassination in 1865. Until now, no historian has explored Swett s life or his remarkable relationship with the sixteenth president. In this welcome volume," " Robert S. Eckley provides the first biography of Swett, crafting an intimate portrait of his experiences as a loyal member of Lincoln s inner circle. Eckley chronicles Swett s early life and the part he played in Lincoln s political campaigns, including his role as an essential member of the team behind Lincoln s two nominations and elections for the presidency. Swett counseled Lincoln during the formation of his cabinet and served as an unofficial advisor and sounding board during Lincoln s time in office. Throughout his life, Swett wrote a great deal on Lincoln, and planned to write a biography about him, but Swett s death preempted the project. His eloquent and interesting writings about Lincoln are described and reproduced in this volume, some for the first time. With "Lincoln s Forgotten Friend," Eckley removes Swett from the shadows of history and sheds new light on Lincoln s personal relationships and their valuable contributions to his career. "Superior Achievement" from the Illinois State Historical Society, 2013 "

Contents:

A wandering youth

The road to Mount Pulaski

The great triumvirate of the Eighth Judicial Circuit

Politics overtakes the law

From the Wigwam to Washington

And the war came

Witness to the emancipation

Quicksilver and New Almaden

This terrible war

A strategic decision

Legal advocate and civic leader

The better angels of our nature.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-62310-2

9786613935557

0-8093-3206-X

OCLC:

812275661