Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency

by Dan Abrams, David Fisher

Overview

The true story of Abraham Lincoln’s last murder trial, a strange case in which he had a deep personal involvement—and which was played out in the nation’s newspapers as he began his presidential campaign.

At the end of the summer of 1859, twenty-two-year-old Peachy Quinn Harrison went on trial for murder in Springfield, Illinois. Abraham Lincoln, who had been involved in more than three thousand cases—including more than twenty-five murder trials—during his two-decades-long career, was hired to defend him. This was to be his last great case as a lawyer.

What normally would have been a local case took on momentous meaning. Lincoln’s debates with Senator Stephen Douglas the previous fall had gained him a national following, transforming the little-known, self-taught lawyer into a respected politician. He was being urged to make a dark-horse run for the presidency in 1860. Taking this case involved great risk. His reputation was untarnished, but should he lose this trial, should Harrison be convicted of murder, the spotlight now focused so brightly on him might be dimmed. He had won his most recent murder trial with a daring and dramatic maneuver that had become a local legend, but another had ended with his client dangling from the end of a rope.

The case posed painful personal challenges for Lincoln. The murder victim had trained for the law in his office, and Lincoln had been his friend and his mentor. His accused killer, the young man Lincoln would defend, was the son of a close friend and loyal supporter. And to win this trial he would have to form an unholy allegiance with a longtime enemy, a revivalist preacher he had twice run against for political office—and who had bitterly slandered Lincoln as an “infidel…too lacking in faith” to be elected.

Lincoln’s Last Trial captures the presidential hopeful’s dramatic courtroom confrontations in vivid detail as he fights for his client—but also for his own blossoming political future. It is a moment in history that shines a light on our legal system, as in this case Lincoln fought a legal battle that remains incredibly relevant today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781335424693
Publisher:	Hanover Square Press
Publication date:	06/05/2018
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	186
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Dan Abrams is the CEO and founder of Abrams Media and chief legal affairs anchor for ABC News. He is also the host of both 60 Days In and Live PD on the A&E network. A graduate of Columbia University Law School, he is the author of the Washington Post bestseller Man Down and has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and the Yale Law and Policy Review, among many others. He lives in New York.

David Fisher is the author of more than twenty New York Times bestsellers. His work has also appeared in most major magazines and many newspapers. He lives in New York with his wife and two sons.

Editorial Reviews

12/01/2017
Abraham Lincoln's last big trial before his run for the presidency was deeply personal: the murder victim, whom he had mentored, trained in his office, while the accused, whom he defended, was the son of a close friend. And losing the case would diminish the bright light he cast after his debate with Sen. Stephen Douglas. With an 80,000-copy first printing.

Library Journal

2018-03-19
A study of a murder trial with potential implications for the political career of our 16th president.Abraham Lincoln was involved in thousands of cases in his distinguished legal career, few more intriguing than the 1859 murder trial of "Peachy" Quinn Harrison. ABC News chief legal affairs anchor Abrams (Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else, 2011) and prolific author Fisher (co-author, with Richard Garriott: Explore/Create, 2017, etc.) assert that Lincoln's successful defense of Harrison served as a springboard to the 1860 Republican presidential nomination. In July 1859, Greek Crafton physically attacked Harrison in a drugstore; Harrison responded by stabbing Crafton with a knife, mortally wounding him. A grand jury indicted Harrison for murder, prompting his father to hire Lincoln and Stephen Logan, Lincoln's former law partner, as defense attorneys. What unfolded was a dramatic trial, a complete transcript of which was kept by stenographer and future congressman Robert R. Hitt. Harrison's acquittal was largely due to the judge's decision to allow Peter Cartwright—Harrison's grandfather and loser of an 1846 congressional election to Lincoln—to testify that Crafton had given a deathbed absolution of Harrison. Lincoln's dramatic closing argument before the jury may have also played a role. Abrams and Fisher adeptly place the Harrison trial within the context of Lincoln's legal career and his well-known skills before a jury, but they fail to support their argument that the case "propelled" Lincoln to the presidency. The case had nothing to do with slavery, the dominant issue of the 1860 presidential campaign and election. Moreover, there are several examples of inaccurate dates—e.g., the Comstock silver lode was made public in 1859 but possibly discovered a year or two earlier—and the authors admit that at times, "we had to deduce what was said [by Lincoln and others and]…suggest appropriate thoughts and/or mannerisms."The story of Lincoln and the Harrison murder trial is intriguing but not necessarily significant enough to merit its own book.

Kirkus Reviews

04/23/2018
Abrams, chief of legal affairs for ABC News and a contributor to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, is joined by Fisher, who has coauthored books with such celebrities as Bill O’Reilly and William Shatner, to recreate Abraham Lincoln’s last significant trial before the 1860 presidential election. Drawing from a transcript of The State of Illinois v. “Peachy” Quinn Harrison discovered in 1989 in a garage once belonging to the defendant’s great-grandson, the authors give readers a moment-by-moment account of the murder trial, which featured a well-liked young victim, a claim of self-defense, a deathbed admission, and Abraham Lincoln for the defense. At key moments, Abrams and Fisher imagine the thoughts, conversations, and strategies of Lincoln, the prosecutors, the court reporter, and the presiding judge. While these forays occasionally strain credibility (and mix somewhat oddly with the factual elements), they also add immediacy to the tale. A deeper understanding of the courtroom drama is aided by clear and enlightening explanations of the historic development of American jurisprudence, including the right to trial by jury and the legal concept of self-defense. Lincoln enthusiasts will find the illumination of his preternatural legal skills a worthy subject; casual readers will find the centerpiece murder trial an engrossing legal thriller. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"[The case] cemented Lincoln's image as a courtroom star-and Abrams and Fisher have made the most of their material, polishing a musty transcript into an entertaining slice of life." -USA Today

"Dan Abrams and David Fisher write the heart-pounding pulse of history. Abraham Lincoln: the dusty shoes, the weary eyes, the Jedi mastery of a jury in a true case of life and death. So pull up a chair. This book not only brings a rare transcript to life, it makes you feel as if you are watching a live camera riveted on a courtroom more than 150 years ago." -Diane Sawyer

"You didn't know that Abraham Lincoln was the defense lawyer in a notorious murder case on the eve of his presidency? Neither did I. But Dan Abrams and David Fisher tell the remarkable tale in Lincoln's Last Trial, and the story is both compelling on its own terms and a lesson about some eternal truths about criminal justice." -Jeffrey Toobin, author of American Heiress

"Captivating... If you love legal thrillers, this is your book!" -Kimberly Guilfoyle

"Dan Abrams tells the story of Lincoln's last trial as an immersive true crime and courtroom drama experience, with impeccable research and highly entertaining digressions on such topics as 19th century jury selection." -Crimereads

"The authors give readers a moment-by-moment account of the murder trial, which featured a well-liked young victim, a claim of self-defense, [and] a deathbed admission… Lincoln enthusiasts will find the illumination of his preternatural legal skills a worthy subject; casual readers will find the centerpiece murder trial an engrossing legal thriller." -Publishers Weekly

"Legal affairs journalist Abrams and coauthor Fisher illuminate a key marker on Abraham Lincoln's path to the White House… The transcripts reveal Lincoln at his best, fighting for a cause he believed in with brilliance and passion-qualities that would serve him so well as president." -Booklist

"Abrams and Fisher quote generously from Hitt's transcript to bring into sharp focus the witness-by-witness testimony and courtroom proceedings." -Library Journal

"We all know the story of Abraham Lincoln the wartime president, the defender of the Union, and the emancipator of the slaves. But Abraham Lincoln, the defense lawyer? Dan Abrams and David Fisher recount the engaging story of Lincoln's last trial, occurring on the cusp of the Civil War. An entertaining book filled with twists and turns and tailor-made for Civil War buffs." -Jay Winik, author of April 1865 and 1944

"Lincoln's wartime leadership overshadows his life as a lawyer. But you can't understand one without the other. In this rich and previously unexplored corner of history, the authors take you inside the courtroom to watch Abraham Lincoln - at the height of his powers as a lawyer and on the edge of eternal fame - as he tries a thrilling murder trial to a jury." -Chris DeRose, New York Times bestselling author of The Presidents' War, Congressman Lincoln, and Founding Rivals

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