Book portrays Lincoln,
the beardless attorney
Local resident reveals lesser known earlier days of former president
By jennifer dome
Staff Writer

FARRAH MAFFAI Sayreville resident Allen Spiegel has written a book titled A. Lincoln Esquire: A Shrewd Sophisticated Litigator in His Time.

SAYREVILLE — President Abraham Lincoln is known as the man who lived in a log cabin in Illinois, and later became one of the most revered United States presidents. He is also known for his Gettysburg address, his assassination at Ford’s Theater, and for his picture on the five-dollar bill.

Many people may not know, however, that Lincoln was a successful lawyer before he became president in 1860.

Lincoln’s legal documents, related to more than 5,000 cases, were recently uncovered after a 10-year collection project in Illinois. A borough resident, Allen D. Spiegel, was fortunate enough to spend time going through these documents, and used his research to write a new book, A. Lincoln, Esquire: A Shrewd Sophisticated Litigator in His Time.

Spiegel said the idea for the book came to him while working on an earlier book about the use of an expert medical witness to support the insanity defense in a murder trial. He learned that the accused murderess in this case was sent flowers by Lincoln’s wife, Mary.

The wheels began to turn, and Spiegel said he began wondering about Lincoln’s law career. This led to the examination in his new book of the 25 years the former president spent as an attorney, Spiegel said.

In the book, published by Mercer University Press, of Macon, Ga., Lincoln is described as a "shrewd, sophisticated, tough and aggressive litigator with a staggering caseload, who cared about making money. "

As a professor of preventive medicine and community health for the College of Medicine, State University of New York, Health Science Center at Brooklyn, Spiegel was interested in Lincoln’s cases dealing with the health-care system. Lincoln’s cases dealt with subjects such as medical malpractice, insanity pleas, chloroform-induced insanity, selection of expert medical witnesses, unpaid medical debt and the wrongful dismissal of a physician executive, Spiegel said.

The author noted that the use of some medical definitions were different in Lincoln’s time.

"Most physicians and the public did not distinguish between organic cause of insanity and moral insanity," Spiegel said. Now, however, insanity is more of a legal concept, while mental illness is a medical condition, Spiegel said.

According to Spiegel, Lincoln’s legal documents proved to be somewhat difficult to read because his handwriting was often illegible. However, once he waded through the documents, Spiegel said he found that Lincoln was what he called "a lawyer’s lawyer." Lincoln was often hired to help other lawyers, and usually took the lead in the courtroom, Spiegel said.

"Lincoln was able to split hairs as well as rails. He paid attention to the technicalities of the law," Spiegel said.

Spiegel said he believes that lawyers, physicians and the general public will be interested in reading his new book.

Lawyers would be interested to learn how Lincoln used humor in the court room, how he prepared for trials and how he chose a jury, he said. Since Lincoln dealt with many different aspects of the health-care system, physicians would be interested in his case work, Spiegel said.

The book also reveals more about Lincoln’s life before he became the president.

"Few realize that Lincoln spent many more years earning a living as a lawyer than being the United States president. Few people realize that Lincoln did not grow a beard until he became president," Spiegel said.

Spiegel, who has lived in Sayreville for about 33 years, has three children — Merrill, Marc and Andrea — with his wife, Lila. He is the author of 24 books and more than 150 articles that have been published in various medical and history journals.