Lincoln's Forgotten Friend, Leonard Swett

by Eckley, Robert S.

• ISBN13: 9780809332052
• ISBN10: 0809332051
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-11-01
• Publisher: Southern Illinois Univ Pr

Summary

@font-face { font-family: "Arial"; }@font-face { font-family: "Times"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } In 1849, while traveling as an attorney on the Eighth Judicial Circuit in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln befriended Leonard Swett (182589), 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.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
A Wandering Youth	p. 11
The Road to Mount Pulaski	p. 21
The Great Triumvirate of the Eighth Judicial Circuit	p. 32
Politics Overtakes the Law	p. 51
From the Wigwam to Washington	p. 69
And the War Came	p. 93
Witness to the Emancipation	p. 107
Quicksilver and New Almaden	p. 124
This Terrible War	p. 137
A Strategic Decision	p. 155
Legal Advocate and Civic Leader	p. 169
The Better Angels of Our Nature	p. 187
Epilogue	p. 200
Acknowledgments	p. 207
Appendix: Selections of Swett's Biographical Writing
Introduction of Lincoln at Bloomington, Illinois, September 4, 1858	p. 211
Letter to Josiah Drummond on Lincoln's 1860 Nomination, May 27, 1860	p. 213
Speech at Great War Rally, U.S. Capitol, August 7, 1862	p. 217
Essay on Lincoln, Letter to Herndon, January 17, 1866, as Amended in 1887	p. 219
In Memory of David Davis, Illinois Bar Association, March 5, 1887	p. 227
Memorial of T. Lyle Dickey, U.S. Circuit Court, Northern District of Illinois, May 9, 1887	p. 234
Dedicatory Speech at the Unveiling of Saint-Gaudens's "Standing Lincoln" Statue at Lincoln Park, Chicago, October 22, 1887	p. 244
Notes	p. 255
Bibliography	p. 287
Index	p. 297
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