Lincolns Greatest Case

Posted on 19 November 2018 by Brian McGinty

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. Best Download [ Lincolns Greatest Case ] by [ Brian McGinty ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr This is one of those books that you keep reading because you think it has to get better but never does This book is really about a court case between steamboat owners and bridge owners that Lincoln happens to be a part of but never really a central character I was expecting great examples of Lincoln s abilities in the courtroom How he wowed the world with...As a native son of Rock Island, IL, I learned about Lincoln s role in the Effie Afton steamboat case at sometime in my local schooling When I read a review of Lincoln s Greatest Case in the the Times and then saw it on the shelves of my neighborhood library, I decided to read it I think that Mr McGinty s book could have made a decent article, but there is not enough material to justify a book, even a slim volume I managed to slog through the pages of numbing detail about the trial, the desig As a native son of Rock Island, IL, I learned about Lincoln s role in the Effie Afton steamboat case at sometime in my local schooling When I read a review of Lincoln s Greatest Case in the the Times and then saw it on the shelves of my neighborhood library, I decided to read it I...I chose this popular history book as the text for a colloquium I taught at the 58th annual Washington State Judicial Conference Twenty five judges read the text in advance of the day long class discussion The book, written by a lawyer about lawyers, relates the story of the 1857 case of Jacob S Hurd, Joseph W Smith, and Alexander W Kidwell vs The Railroad Bridge Company popularly known as the Effie Afton case The Effie Afton was a steamboat which ran into a bridge footing and started an I chose this popular history book as the text for a colloquium I taught at the 58th annual Washington State Judicial Conference Twenty five judges read the text in advance of the day long class discussion The book, written by a lawyer about lawyers, relates the story of the 1857 case of Jacob S Hurd, Joseph W Smith, and Alexander W Kidwell vs The Railroad Bridge Company popularly known as the Effie Afton case The Effie Afton was a steamboat which ran into a bridge footing and started an awful fuss Students of Abraham Lincoln, well fed on the events of his presidency and on the Lincoln Douglas debates, are treated to another aspect of this famous man s life his work as a trial lawy...I love all things Abraham Lincoln, and this was a good story about his participation in a trial pitting the steamboat industry against the emerging railroad industry McGinty makes the case that Lincoln s summary in the trial was pivotal to his political career.The story is pieced together from newspaper accounts and the legal papers of Lincoln, as the trial transcript was lost in the 1871 Chicago fire So there is by necessity supposition as to actions, words, etc., but McGinty supposes based o I love all things Abraham Lincoln, and this was a good story about his participation in a trial pitting the steamboat industry against the emerging railroad industry McGinty makes the case that Lincoln s summary in the trial was pivotal to his political career.The story is pieced together from newspaper accounts and the legal papers of Lincoln, as the trial transcript was lost in the 1871 Chicago fire So...This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers To view it, click here Although I liked parts of this book, this book is guilty of false advertisement Very little of the actual court case involves Lincoln I think he is mentioned once during the trial and then there are about 10 pages about Lincoln s closing argument McGinty was clearly limited by his primary source material all the court records were destroyed in the Chicago Fire , but Lincoln is by far the main character Also, the trial ended in a hung jury, and Lincoln wasn t invol...A fascinating book about one of Lincoln s most important but little discussed trials The trial was that of Hurd et al v The Railroad Bridge Company and pits powerful Mississippi River steamboat interests against those of the nascent railroad companies In short, a side wheeler steamboat, the Effie Afton, plows into the piers of a railroad bridge crossing over the Mississippi River at Rock Island between Illinois and Davenport, Iow...TEDIOUS This book is an exhaustive legal history of a pivotal case in 1857, pitting the railroad vs river steamship commerce It does not work as popular literature, however Too many details, which are not central to the story, bog it down It took me over 2 weeks to slog through only 191 pages of text.As was true of many issues of th...A rather short book, but the definitive account of the Effie Afton trial of 1857, which legal historian McGinty argues was the most important one of Abraham Lincoln s nearly 25 year career as a lawyer This is Hurd et al v The Railroad Bridge Co Hurd s steamboat Effie Afton crashed into the RR bridge spanning the Mississippi River from Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa and then caught fire Hurd sued for damages and also have the Rock Island Bridge removed as an obstruction to rive A rather short book, but the definitive account of the Effie Afton trial of 1857, which legal historian McGinty argues was the most important one of Abraham Lincoln s nearly 25 year career as a lawyer This is Hur...I received a copy of this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways Lincoln s Greatest Case contains an occasional interesting fact, but overall it s not worth reading.This book is a disappointment and not at all what I expected It s overly detailed, tedious, and repetitive A big problem is the subject there s not much material there to begin with The incident was not monumental or unique, and Lincoln s role in the case was fairly sm...I received this book through Good Reads Giveaway This is a highly detailed and researched book about our greatest president, giving us insight into Lincoln s personality and skills as a lawyer It enhances my appreciation of the man and of 19th Century America We feel so short changed by today s po...

19 November 2018

Brian McGinty