Lincoln and the prolonged personal snub. 2

Manny chose Lincoln because he had built up a solid reputation over the past 20 years or so of dazzling both juries and judges with his distinctive blend of wry humor, shrewd insight, and dogged, methodical dedication to all things legal. In short, Lincoln was the best trial lawyer Illinois had to offer. Frankly, in the mid 1850’s that wasn’t saying much - maybe Lincoln was merely a big frog in a little pond and not up to the task when pitted against the best legal minds in the country. But since the trial was to take place in front of an Illinois jury Lincoln just might prove invaluable, possibly in providing the summation at the end. In any event when Harding visited Lincoln in his home in Springfield he paid him a $2,000 retainer on the spot, a sizeable sum of money indeed. But then money was no object.

Lincoln of course was elated. It was his first crack at the big time. He enthusiastically researched the two brands of reapers writing up a brief based on a meticulous analysis of their respective characteristics. However, it was a brief that, as we shall soon see, never saw the light of day.