Lincoln's Greatest Case: The River, the Bridge, and the Making of America - Hardcover

Mcginty, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0871407841 ISBN 13: 9780871407849

Publisher: Liveright, 2015

Synopsis

In the early hours of May 6, 1856, the steamboat Effie Afton barreled into a pillar of the Rock Island Bridge the first railroad bridge ever to span the Mississippi River. Soon after, the newly constructed vessel, crowded with passengers and livestock, erupted into flames and sank in the river below, taking much of the bridge with it. As lawyer and Lincoln scholar Brian McGinty dramatically reveals in Lincoln's Greatest Case, no one was killed, but the question of who was at fault cried out for an answer. Backed by powerful steamboat interests in St. Louis, the owners of the Effie Afton quickly pressed suit, hoping that a victory would not only prevent the construction of any future bridges from crossing the Mississippi but also thwart the burgeoning spread of railroads from Chicago. The fate of the long-dreamed-of transcontinental railroad lurked ominously in the background, for if rails could not cross the Mississippi by bridge, how could they span the continent all the way to the Pacific? The official title of the case was Hurd et al. v. The Railroad Bridge Company, but it could have been St. Louis v. Chicago, for the transportation future of the whole nation was at stake. Indeed, was it to be dominated by steamboats or by railroads? Conducted at almost the same time as the notorious Dred Scott case, this new trial riveted the nation s attention. Meanwhile, Abraham Lincoln, already well known as one of the best trial lawyers in Illinois, was summoned to Chicago to join a handful of crack legal practitioners in the defense of the bridge. While there, he succesfully helped unite the disparate regions of the country with a truly transcontinental rail system and, in the process, added to the stellar reputation that vaulted him into the White House less than four years later. Re-creating the Effie Afton case from its unlikely inception to its controversial finale, McGinty brilliantly animates this legal cauldron of the late 1850s, which turned out to be the most consequential trial in Lincoln's nearly quarter century as a lawyer. Along the way, the tall prairie lawyer's consummate legal skills and instincts are also brought to vivid life, as is the history of steamboat traffic on the Mississippi, the progress of railroads west of the Appalachians, and the epochal clashes of railroads and steamboats at the river s edge. Lincoln's Greatest Case is legal history on a grand scale and an essential first act to a pivotal Lincoln drama we did not know was there."

About this title

Review:

A fascinating study of the case that capped Lincoln's career as a lawyer and fostered the creation of the vast railroad network that would bind the nation together.--Richard Slotkin, author of The Long Road to Antietam

Of the 5,000-plus cases in which attorney Abraham Lincoln participated, none had more national significance than the one that Brian McGinty so ably describes and analyzes in this highly readable volume. Based on thorough research, McGinty not only sheds bright light on Lincoln's contribution to the defense of the bridge company but also places the story within the larger context of American economic, social, and military history.--Michael Burlingame, author of Abraham Lincoln: A Life

Sometimes, while the future seems to lie in the establishment of invisible connections, it can be rewarding to look to the past, when it was infrastructure that held the promise of unity. McGinty enlivens this history of pre-Civil War America.--Elizabeth Taylor

McGinty does a masterful job bringing this 157-year-old case to life.--David Holahan

McGinty provides valuable context unavailable anywhere else and a deep understanding of the dynamic and contested legal, commercial, and political world that informed Lincoln's support for westward expansion and economic development, shaped his ideas on law, and honed his skills as a lawyer. McGinty's book gives us the best accounting of Lincoln, the lawyer, to date. Highly recommended.--Randall M. Miller

McGinty makes good on his promise to articulate why a now obscure 1857 trial had much broader significance than one would expect of a legal battle over transportation....A masterful popular history that places its focal point in a richly detailed wider context and will get readers interested in Lincoln's legal career.

About the Author:

Brian McGinty is an attorney and writer who specializes in American history and law. His previous books include Lincoln's Greatest Case, The Body of John Merryman: Abraham Lincoln and the Suspension of Habeas Corpus, and John Brown's Trial. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.

About this edition

• Publisher: Liveright
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0871407841
• ISBN 13: 9780871407849
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272