Episode 19: The Real Lincoln Lawyer
Illinois v. Quinn Harrison
In 1859, Abraham Lincoln walked into a courtroom in Springfield, Illinois, ready to defend his client. No one knew it then, but this would be Lincoln's last murder trial; fourteen months later, he would be elected president. Lincoln's defense of 22-year-old Quinn Harrison, accused of killing another young man in a fight, highlights the future president's brilliance. But would Lincoln's legal skills be enough to free Quinn Harrison?
Episode Resources
Episode Transcript
Works Cited/
Referenced
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“Abraham Lincoln Political Career Timeline,” Abraham Lincoln Online, 2010.
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“Abraham Lincoln: Rise to National Prominence,” Library of Congress.
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Dan Abrams and David Fisher, Lincoln’s Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency (Hanover Square Press, 2023).
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Richard J. Behn, “1859-1860,” in Mr. Lincoln and Freedom, The Lehrman Institute, 2002-2024.
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Richard J. Behn, “The Lawyers: Stephen Trigg Logan,” in Mr. Lincoln and Friends, The Lehrman Institute, 2002-2024.
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Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009).
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Jeremy Bentham, Rationale of Judicial Evidence (1827).
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William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book IV, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1765-1769).
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Michael Burlingame, “Abraham Lincoln: Life Before the Presidency,” University of Virginia Miller Center.
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George R. Dekle, Sr., “Lincoln’s Last Murder Case: The News Reports,” Abraham Lincoln’s Almanac Trial, November 20, 2015.
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Family Trees of Abraham Lincoln and Peyton Harrison, FamilySearch.
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Trial transcript, Illinois v. Harrison.
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“John McAuley Palmer,” Illinois State Library Heritage Project, Illinois Secretary of State.
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Caroline E. Light, Stand Your Ground: A History of America’s Love Affair with Lethal Self-Defense (Boston: Beacon Press, 2017).
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Abraham Lincoln, “Autobiography,” December 20, 1859.
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The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Sesquicentennial Commission.
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Peggy McAloon, “Lincoln’s Last Trial – Transcript Found in 1898,” September 8, 2018.
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Darrell A.H. Miller, “Self-Defense, Defense of Others, and the State,” Law and Contemporary Problems, vol. 80, no. 2 (2017).
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Liz Mineo, “The Loaded History of Self-Defense,” The Harvard Gazette, March 7, 2017.
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Herbert Mitgang, “Lincoln as Lawyer: Transcript Tells Murder Story,” The New York Times, February 10, 1989.
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“News From Neighboring Towns,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 24, 1898.
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“Peachy Quinn Harrison,” FindAGrave.
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Robert Popper, “History and Development of the Accused’s Right to Testify,” Washington University Law Quarterly no. 4 (1962).
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Mitchell Snay, “Abraham Lincoln, Owen Lovejoy, and the Emergence of the Republican Party in Illinois,” Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association vol. 22, no. 1 (Winter 2001).
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Joshua Stein, “Privatizing Violence: A Transformation in the Jurisprudence of Assault,” Law and History Review vol. 30, no 2 (May 2012).
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“Stephen A. Douglas: A Featured Biography,” United States Senate.
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Francis Wharton, A Treatise on Criminal Law of the United States (Philadelphia: James Kay, Jun., and Brother, 1846).