Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason

By David Hirsch, Dan Van Haften and Frank J. Williams

The secrets of one of history’s greatest orators are revealed in “one of the most stunningly original works on Abraham Lincoln to appear in years” (John Stauffer, professor of English and history, Harvard University).
 
For more than 150 years, historians have speculated about what made Abraham Lincoln truly great. How did Lincoln create his compelling arguments, his convincing oratory, and his unforgettable writing? Some point to Lincoln’s study of grammar, literature, and poetry. Others believe it was the deep national crisis that gave import to his words. Most agree that he honed his persuasive technique in his work as an Illinois attorney.
 
Here, the authors argue that it was Lincoln’s in-depth study of geometry that made the president’s verbal structure so effective. In fact, as the authors demonstrate, Lincoln embedded the ancient structure of geometric proof into the Gettysburg Address, the Cooper Union speech, the first and second inaugurals, his legal practice, and much of his substantive post-1853 communication.
 
Also included are Lincoln’s preparatory notes and drafts of some of his most famous speeches as well as his revisions and personal thoughts on public speaking and grammar.
 
With in-depth research and provocative insight, Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason “offers a whole new angle on Lincoln’s brilliance” (James M. Cornelius, Curator, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Nov 19, 2010
• ISBN: 9781611210583

David Hirsch

David Hirsch is an attorney in Des Moines, Iowa. He has a BS from Michigan State University and a JD, with distinction, from the University of Iowa College of Law. He clerked for an Iowa Supreme Court Justice from 1973 to 1974. In addition to a full‑time law practice, Hirsch was a columnist for the American Bar Association Journal for over a decade. Hirsch is admitted to practice in all Iowa state trial and appellate courts, plus: United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, United States Court of Claims, United States Tax Court.

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© 2010 by David Hirsch and Dan Van Haften

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Dedicated to our parents

Robert Hirsch

Florence Hirsch

James Van Haften

Esther Van Haften

"I know of nothing so pleasant to the mind, as the discovery of anything which is at once new and valuable—nothing which so lightens and sweetens toil, as the hopeful pursuit of such discovery.… A capacity, and taste, for reading, gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others. It is the key, or one of the keys, to the already solved problems."

—Abraham Lincoln, Address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society (September 30, 1859)

Abraham Lincoln

National Archives

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

Foreword by Hon. Frank J. Williams

Introduction

Chronological List of Lincoln Documents Demarcated

Chapter 1: Lincoln the Law Student

Chapter 2: Unlocking Lincoln

Chapter 3: Honest Abe?

Chapter 4: Lawyering Like Lincoln

Chapter 5: Attorney and Client: Matchmaking

Chapter 6: Credibility, Credibility, Credibility

Chapter 7: Fact Check: Confirming Truth

Chapter 8: Legal Check: Confirming Law

Chapter 9: Pleadings and Discovery: Specifying Issues and Facts

Chapter 10: Moving Targets: Judges and Motions

Chapter 11: Demonstration: The Elements of Trial

Chapter 12: Appeal

Chapter 13: Jefferson and Lincoln

Chapter 14: Euclid, the Apple of Newton’s Eye

Chapter 15: How Does a Speech Mean?

Chapter 16: Abraham Lincoln: The Great Demarcator

Conclusion: Listening to Lincoln

Afterword by John Stauffer

Appendix A: Speech at Springfield, Illinois, June 26, 1857

Appendix B: Lincoln’s Speech to Jury in Rock Island Bridge Case

Appendix C: A House Divided

Appendix D: Notes for Speeches at Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio

Appendix E: Speech at Columbus, Ohio

Appendix F: Address Before Wisconsin State Agricultural Soc., Milwaukee

Appendix G: Address at Cooper Institute, New York City

Appendix H: Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address

Appendix I: Letter to Erastus Corning and Others

Appendix J: Letter to James C. Conkling

Appendix K: Last Public Address

Appendix L: Lincoln Pleading in Original Form and Recast in Modern Form

Endnotes

Bibliography

Tables and Figures

2.1 Proposition 1

2.2 Elements of a Proposition

2.3 Euclid Book 1, Proposition 1

2.4 Cooper Union (Three Speeches in One)

2.5 Letter to George C. Latham, July 22, 1860

3.1 Lincoln’s Cooper Union Analysis

4.1 Lincoln’s Attorney Notes, Clark & Morrison v. Page et al.

4.2 Geometry of Justice

5.1 Abraham Lincoln Letter to General Meade, July 14, 1863

5.2 Letter to John M. Pomeroy, August 31, 1860

5.3 Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862

5.4 To Samuel C. Davis & Company, November 17, 1858

7.1 Address at Sanitary Fair, Baltimore, Maryland, April 18, 1864

7.2 Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865

7.3 Lincoln’s Reply to Notification Committee, March 1, 1865

8.1 Letter to James N. Brown, October 18, 1858

8.2 Opinion Concerning John Fitzgerald, December 18, 1854

9.1 Abraham Lincoln Letter to General Hooker, January 26, 1863

12.1 Abraham Lincoln’s Form Letter to Fillmore Men, September 8, 1856

12.2 Letter to Henry L. Pierce and Others, April 6, 1859

13.1 Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, Thomas Jefferson

14.1 Principia Book 1 Proposition 39

14.2 Aristotle’s System of Persuasion

15.1 Lincoln’s Euclidean Path

15.2 Guidelines: The Elements of a Proposition

15.3 Demarcating a Lincoln Document

15.4 Lincoln’s Outline for a Speech at Columbus, Ohio, September 16, 1859

15.5 Lincoln’s Handwritten Outline for Columbus Speech

15.6 Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863

16.1 Lincoln Propositions with Specifications Containing I say or a Variant

16.2 Lincoln’s Farewell Address, Springfield, February 11, 1861

Preface

The process of two people writing a book like this could be the subject of another book. There are so many variables regarding collaborating, sharing information, sharing writing tasks, joint editing and more. With one author in Des Moines and the other in suburban Chicago, face-to-face collaboration was possible only occasionally. It helped that the authors initially met decades ago, in the first grade.

When the authors began the three-year endeavor that produced this book, neither considered himself a Lincoln scholar. That was both an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage was that the authors had few pre-conceived notions, and of necessity were willing to go wherever the evidence led.

David Hirsch had believed for many years that there was a connection between mathematics and speech. But prior to our Euclid discoveries, the draft of our book contained a mere sentence to the effect that English and mathematics are the two most important areas to study for someone planning a career in American law. However, early on in the project, Dan said the first thing he wanted to read was the complete Lincoln-Douglas debates, and the next thing after that was the Cooper Union speech. David thought that was an unusual place to start, but figured if that was what Dan wanted to do, then fine. Dan did a seven-page summary of key statements from the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

David became excited over a paragraph that mentioned Euclid. David asked Dan to find out everything he could about Lincoln studying Euclid. As with so much of Lincoln’s early years and law practice years, there were references in numerous places to Lincoln’s Euclid study—but none of them said much, and all of them said essentially the same thing: Lincoln studied the first six books of Euclid. He learned Euclid to find out what it meant to demonstrate.

So when Dan came back essentially empty-handed in his search for what Lincoln had learned from Euclid, David suggested: Do what Lincoln did. Go read Euclid’s first six books. Find out what Lincoln learned. Discover what ‘demonstrate’ means.

Dan therefore studied Euclid, and Proclus’ commentaries on Euclid. He then felt he knew what Lincoln had learned. David’s response was, Good. Now find the best example of Lincoln using Euclid, preferably from his legal work, but if not there, then from his speeches. Almost none of Lincoln’s jury arguments and appellate oral arguments were preserved. After lengthy study, Dan came back: I’ve got it: the Cooper Union speech. That was our primary starting point; this book is the end product.

In a contemporary context, this is the book Lincoln might have written about the vocation that was his passion. In that sense, we–Hirsch and Van Haften–are merely the book’s editors. The book largely relies on Lincoln’s words, as they are preserved, as well as the words of those who personally knew him. This book is also the result of the labor of all who came before us, who contributed to the preservation of the Lincoln legacy, from William Herndon to Harold Holzer, Frank Williams, John Stauffer, and countless others. The authors feel lucky and privileged to have put this book together.

Acknowledgments

Abraham Lincoln is addictive. If such an addiction is going to be indulged to the extent of writing a book—particularly a book like this—it is rewarding to do so with a co-author one has known since the first grade. This book would not exist if not for the collaboration of one with the other. Neither would this book be what it is without generous support from others, too many to list, and likely too many to remember. The people and institutions mentioned below greatly enhanced the book. The responsibility for any errors in the book belongs solely to the authors.

Lee and Betty Moorehead organized annual three-day Lincoln seminars in Springfield for many years. Dan attended three of these seminars, where he learned about Lincoln scholarship and the Lincoln Legal Papers. Thanks to Betty for providing access to Lee’s collection of Lincoln books.

The American Bar Association provided a forum in the ABA Journal for David to co-author the technology column for more than a decade. Particular thanks to Steve Keeva, David’s first editor at the ABA Journal, who taught David to appreciate the value of an editor, and Reg Davis, David’s last editor at the Journal, who facilitated the February 2007 column on Lincoln that led directly to this book.

John R. Austin, Director of the David C. Shapiro Memorial Law Library, and Frank Lima, plus the staff of both the law library and Founders Memorial Library at Northern Illinois University, provided consistent support and assistance. These were the most heavily used libraries for this project.

The patient staff of the Drake University Opperman Law Library extended many courtesies, including research assistance, never fining David for an overdue book, and renewing his checked-out books without question. The Cowles Library at Drake University is appreciated for its shelves of Jefferson books we pored over the weekend we made the Jefferson discovery (that resulted in Chapter Thirteen): the excitement there was finding nothing, despite rows of books discussing Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration. The staffs of the University of Chicago D’Angelo Law Library, DePaul University Rinn Law Library, University of Iowa College of Law law library, and the University of North Carolina Kathrine R. Everett Law Library were generous with their assistance.

The staff at many other public, college, and university libraries were also very helpful, as well as staff from the Library of Congress, the Illinois Supreme Court library, and the Lincoln Research Library at the Fort Wayne Lincoln Museum. Dan visited Fort Wayne on its last day, where he discussed Lincoln with another last-day patron, Robert J. Havlick. Dan was the last library user out when the library’s doors were locked permanently.

Public libraries include that of Burlington, Iowa, where early discussions were held on topics for the book in glass conference rooms overlooking the Mississippi River. Other libraries include Batavia, Illinois, Chicago Harold Washington, Chicago Newberry, Evanston, Geneva, Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Naperville, Springfield, St. Charles, Warrenville, West Chicago, and Wheaton, Illinois; Des Moines, Iowa; and Midland, Michigan. The following college libraries and staff were helpful: Elmhurst, Gettysburg, Knox, North Central and Wheaton. The following university libraries and staff were helpful: Aurora, Central Michigan, Illinois State, Iowa State, Northwestern, University of Chicago, University of Illinois-Springfield, University of Iowa and University of North Carolina. Google Books was convenient and useful.

James M. Cornelius, Curator, Lincoln Collection, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, provided access to, and suggested numerous items from, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Debbie Hamm, Glenna Schroeder-Lein, and Cheryl Schnirring gave support from the Manuscripts Section of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Daniel W. Stowell, Director/Editor of the Lincoln Legal Papers, discussed with Dan the subject of Abraham Lincoln as a lawyer. Matthew Hofstedt, Associate Curator, Supreme Court of the United States, shared documents and information about Abraham Lincoln’s only oral argument before the United States Supreme Court.

Daniel Weinberg, proprietor of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, provided early encouragement, suggestions, and assistance. Dan was the first outside sounding board for our core discoveries. Frank J. Williams provided encouragement and support at a time when he was likely busier in retirement than when he was on the bench (if that is possible). John Stauffer offered generous encouragement and support, and perhaps one of the most interesting ninety-minute discussions we have ever had.

Close to midday about two years ago we were both driving in and around Des Moines during the lunch hour when we heard Theodore P. (Ted) Savas talking on Iowa Public Radio. Neither of us knew of the publishing house of Savas Beatie, but we both liked what we heard. Deep thanks to Ted, a principled, old-fashioned publisher who knows how to survive in modern times. His real secret is love of his work. Ted assigned Rob Ayer to act as our developmental editor. Rob made a huge contribution to this book by sharpening its focus and smoothing its edges. Lee Merideth worked tirelessly against hard deadlines, creatively reformatting tables, resolving formatting issues, and with us on the index. Thanks also to Sarah Keeney and the entire marketing staff at Savas Beatie for their focused efforts in promoting our book.

Special thanks (perhaps combat pay would be a better term) is due to those who painfully plowed through early drafts. Bic Bakkum made important structural suggestions; Jennefer E. Klever-Kirkman was an early reader who is also a wonderful example of the richness of the female contribution to a formerly all-male legal profession. W. Pierce McMartin was tactful and gentle with his scholarly comments.

Thanks to Marc Harding, an Iowa law school classmate of David’s and the senior lawyer in the Des Moines law firm where David practices, who read an intermediate version of the manuscript. Former Iowa Court of Appeals Judge John Miller’s comments on the Cooper Union analysis in Chapter Three were invaluable; a better district court judge and appellate judge would be hard to find. Jerry Courtney reviewed the manuscript in its later stages, and his helpful and practical comments, along with his excitement and encouragement, are appreciated.

Rod Mackler, Dan’s brother-in-law, provided diplomatic and helpful comments on each chapter. Thanks also to Susan VanHaften, Dan’s sister, for her blunt and perceptive comments on progressive manuscript drafts. She served as an excellent legacy of Margery Roberts, the old-fashioned, demanding, devoted high school English teacher who Susan, David, and Dan all had. Among other things, John Ciardi’s, How Does a Poem Mean, the inspiration for Chapter Fifteen, was among the books Mrs. Roberts assigned for English advanced placement study.

Thanks to Des Moines Rabbis Yossi Jacobson and Levi Goldstein for teaching the Chassidic principles of self-nullification, modesty, and humor in the learning process. These principles helped clarify how Abraham Lincoln’s mind became a vessel for learning.

David thanks his mother Florence Hirsch, who more than two years before the book’s finish, when the project could no longer be hidden, asked the key question: What is there to be written about Abraham Lincoln that has not already been said? Later, after inspecting the cover, she also made the comment that only a mother could: Why aren’t the authors’ names in bigger print? David also thanks his father Robert Hirsch, a history major in college who was particularly fond of reading about the Civil War. He was a true example of integrity and responsibility.

Dan thanks his mother Esther Van Haften for providing a home that encouraged reading and learning. Dan read the Lincoln-Douglas debates over Thanksgiving 2007 and the Cooper Union speech over Christmas 2007 while visiting her. He thanks his father James Van Haften, who preached the importance of sunshine on public process, and was a living example of dogged and patient pursuit of information regarding public issues. David thanks his wife, Esther Hirsch: always there, always devoted.

Foreword

The authors, in their introduction, make the bold assertion that [a]lmost any literate person can become an Abraham Lincoln. We show how. While there has only been one Abraham Lincoln, the authors have a point in this brilliant study of Lincoln and his application of Euclid’s first six books on geometry. That usage appealed to Lincoln’s philosophical yet intensely practical nature.

As this book demonstrates, Lincoln was curious. As a young man seeking to improve his education, Lincoln acquired a fondness for mathematics. The months he spent surveying roads, bounding farms and platting town sites taught him to respect the exactitude and precision of the trained engineer. His taste for this carried him into the law and the study of Euclid. He became proficient in handling patent cases, and took out a patent of his own (on a device for lifting vessels over shoals)—the only president to do so. He prepared and delivered a lecture on Discoveries and Inventions and was very much aware of the technological advances that were taking place around him while living during the machine age in America.

In addition to demonstrating how Lincoln’s understanding of geometry helped organize his mind, writing and political skills, Abraham Lincoln is presented throughout the text as an exemplar for civic responsibilities. The authors show that Lincoln, the autodidact, was himself a teacher, and that he taught by example. Lincoln’s record as lawyer, politician and president teaches one how to demonstrate, argue and convince—when to fight and when to move on.

The authors, like Lincoln, analyze Euclid’s Elements. Unlike any other study, especially of Abraham Lincoln as a lawyer, the authors found examples of Lincoln’s use of Euclid’s elements of a proposition in his speeches, particularly the Cooper Union Address, the Gettysburg Address, the second inaugural and his farewell address to his friends and neighbors in Springfield. These speeches are deconstructed to show how Lincoln used Euclid to create and fashion them. As the authors point out, the results lead from truth to truth, not least of which are similarities between Lincoln’s time and our own; they identify universal truths that apply to both eras. The authors explain technical matters with such a simple ease that they cease to be technical.

To David Hirsch and Dan Van Haften, all students of Abraham Lincoln and our democracy are indebted.

But knowledge of Euclidian geometry is not the only source of Lincoln’s greatness. His success and leadership can be distilled into four basic tenets.

First, Lincoln was clear and confident in his belief that everyone should have an equal chance in the race of life—devoid of tyranny and terrorism. He was willing to challenge the political hierarchy in order to obtain that goal, even though he knew that people resist change.

Second, Lincoln held true to his principles, remaining steadfast even in the face of criticism. He was called a baboon, a gorilla, the Illinois beast, and Abraham Africanis I for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.

His third leadership quality was the significance he placed on nobility, honor and character—in himself and in others.

And finally, the characteristic that perhaps best evidences Lincoln’s leadership was his ability to thrive in the midst of the fray and in the midst of the noble crusade—a focused pursuit of justice.

At the very least, Euclidean geometry forms the basis for these four characteristics. It was from this base that Lincoln grew and thrived. Our understanding of Abraham Lincoln continues to evolve, as have we in the 200 years since his birth.

Frank J. Williams

Chair, The Lincoln Forum, and

Retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island

Introduction

Almost any literate person can become an Abraham Lincoln. We show how. Lincoln’s own literacy was hard-won; it is hard to imagine anyone more fully leveraging self-education than Abraham Lincoln. Most would have regarded that as true even before our discovery of precisely how Lincoln put together arguments and composed speeches. At first glance Lincoln’s self-education certainly seems admirable, but appears more unusual in its success than in its method. However, while Lincoln possessed talent and intellect, his self-development was actually more of an engineering accomplishment than an exercise of innate talent. The sixteen chapters that follow lay out the elements of this accomplishment.

Lincoln’s education constituted the first element. Its essence was method. What previously was viewed as muscle-building mental exercise was really bone-providing foundation. One year of formal education plus a lifetime of informal education transformed Lincoln into a remarkable orator and a great president. Lincoln’s education, formal and informal, can be divided into five categories: logical reasoning, oral communication, conflict resolution, general education, and legal education. Lincoln the Law Student focuses on these five aspects. Lincoln was an example of the power of knowing a few things very well, of depth over breadth. This serves as the backdrop for what is truly remarkable: Lincoln’s transformation of ancient mathematical reasoning into verbal power.

Theodore Sorensen, a John F. Kennedy speechwriter, wrote, Of all the U.S. presidents, Lincoln had the best speechwriter—himself.¹ In January 1961, Kennedy asked Sorensen to study the Gettysburg Address, plus the inaugural addresses of all twentieth-century presidents.² What Kennedy did not realize was that to write a speech of Gettysburg Address quality, Sorensen would have needed to read Euclid, too. Lincoln’s study of Euclid was well known, but until now had been examined only superficially. A secret has been hiding in plain sight; Unlocking Lincoln reveals it. A comparison of the geometric proof of Euclid’s initial proposition to the first part of Lincoln’s Cooper Union Speech shows that in each the structural elements of a proposition are identical. This was the bone upon which Lincoln laid his muscle of reason. Lincoln transformed geometry into speech. His simple but powerful technique used the ancient Greek elements of a geometric proposition in an entirely new context: oratory.

Just as poetry never mentions iambic pentameter, Euclid’s Elements never mentioned or described the elements of a proposition: enunciation, exposition, specification, construction, proof and conclusion. They were just there. Proclus’ commentary on Euclid briefly described the six elements of a proposition and their purpose. But mathematicians did not realize the power of the elements of a proposition to enable masterful oratory.

When Lincoln had a eureka moment studying Euclid’s Elements, he ran out to share it with a caretaker of horses.³ We will never know precisely what discovery he shared that day. But thereafter Lincoln seems to have never shared his broad Euclidean system with anyone, not even his law partner William Herndon. For over 150 years it remained an unopened gift. Unlocking Lincoln’s secrets involved listening to Lincoln and following the evidence. Historians looked at Lincoln’s oratory and his writing to explain his greatness: they analyzed their words and phrases; they marveled over their poetry. But these admirers remained unaware of the underlying structural mechanism. Great speeches and great writings are less a function of words and phrases than of structure. This is particularly true when the goal is to persuade or lead. Lincoln’s clarity and persuasiveness are obvious, but his method is not—at least until one opens the gift he left us: his own words. His method is far from free-form creativity, though it is not rigid. Upon revelation, it shows itself to be mechanically simple, regular, even obvious.

The power to reason has within it the potential to deceive. Honest Abe? shows how Lincoln misused his Euclidean prowess to persuade the nation regarding the original meaning of the Constitution. He accomplished this sleight of hand in his Cooper Union speech, the speech that made him president. Lincoln subtly miscounted the founders’ votes on legislation regarding federal control of slavery in the territories. The miscount discovery is not a direct result of dividing the speech into its Euclidean elements, but demarcating the speech into the elements of a proposition makes the speech easier to understand, which led to the discovery of Lincoln’s deception. This helps to explain how such a fundamental mistake could have gone unnoticed for over 150 years.

Understanding Abraham Lincoln as a lawyer is critical to understanding Lincoln as president. Lawyering Like Lincoln portrays the rich flavor of Lincoln riding the Illinois Eighth Circuit, and discusses timeless concepts of ordered liberty and the administration of justice. The process of presenting a case to a jury or a judge mirrors the Euclidean method. What could be better suited to legal process than the elements of Euclidean demonstration? With these same skills, Lincoln led a nation.

Attorney and Client: Matchmaking describes issues regarding selecting an attorney and aspects of presenting a case. Both can be messy. This is the formal beginning of the search for the truth. Lincoln stories illuminate the process.

Effective communication starts with facts and moves to goals. In the House Divided speech Lincoln polarized the case⁴ against the South to its logical extreme: the nation would become all slave or all free. Credibility, Credibility, Credibility speaks of facts, truth, and reputation. This is the strength of the courts’ adversarial system. Like a civil war, two sides are pitted against each other, frequently taking opposite positions on facts, law, and goals. Like a civil war, the process can be withering. The difference is that in the justice system controversy that cannot be resolved by agreement achieves final adjudication civilly—by intellectual, not physical, persuasion.

Litigation is persuasion; it is communication with combative purpose. Parties face skeptical judges and juries who want to do the right thing. Frequently the matter to be decided is intractable, or the parties would not be there. We discuss constitutionally protected confidential speech between attorney and client and the relationship between communication and ethics.

Any aspect of communication can be pivotal to properly presenting a legal matter. Controlling what is controllable prepares one to deal with that which is not. Both managing information and paper and keeping track of facts and law are a necessary part of communication, and constitute part of controlling what is controllable. Technology changes the mechanics of the system, but not its nature. Managing information fosters credibility, and credibility makes a good outcome more likely.

In response to a comment regarding an able speech by Stephen A. Douglas, Lincoln predicted, I will answer that speech without any trouble, because Judge Douglas made two misstatements of fact, and upon these two misstatements he built his whole argument.⁵ Just like in geometry, every legal proposition starts with the facts. Relevant facts assist a party whose contention is correct because facts are always consistent with each other, even if they initially may seem otherwise.⁶ Fact Check: Confirming Truth focuses on the importance of facts; Lincoln stated, If a man will stand up and assert, and repeat, and re-assert, that two and two do not make four, I know nothing in the power of argument that can stop him.⁷ So, for example, the second proposition in Lincoln’s Address at the Sanitary Fair in Baltimore focused on the need to get the facts regarding the reported Southern massacre of captured African American troops.

Next, in order to meaningfully discuss those facts, once collected, there must be agreement on language. In the same Sanitary Fair speech Lincoln pointed out that "[w]e all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing."⁸ In fact, Lincoln won his first case, in which he was charged with interfering with a licensed ferry, in a way that may be described as a technicality by some but justice by others: the case turned on a determination that the word over means across.

Finally, in order to frame the facts properly, it is essential to understand the other side’s position. Lincoln was a master at that. His Second Inaugural provides an example.

Moving from language to principles, the same phenomenon can be observed. The Declaration of Independence posited several truths, described as self-evident, including that all men are created equal. However, that concept meant different things to different people. The law is, in part, a reasoning process, but also, in part, a set of givens, and in court it is the law that provides the controlling axioms.

Even though every generation has its own major issues, Legal Check: Confirming Law reveals continuities in the legal process. This is not surprising, since the development of tools for legal research well ahead of computers made American case law and statutory law perhaps the most thoroughly indexed and professionally accessible category of information. This leads to a discussion of the importance of making American law accessible to the layperson, something now possible but not fully effected.

Lincoln advised that "[i]n law it is good policy to never plead what you need not, lest you oblige yourself to prove what you can not."⁹ Pleadings and Discovery: Specifying Issues and Facts deals with framing propositions. Pleading corresponds to the specification in Euclidean geometry, while discovery relates to construction; discovery is also necessary to decide what the issues will be. We contrast modern pleading and discovery with antebellum pleading and discovery, recast a Lincoln pleading in modern form, and mention the potential impact of electronic filing.

Judges are charged with the duty to make everything work. Moving Targets: Judges and Motions analyzes what motivates judges. We also discuss judicial funding then and now.

Demonstration: The Elements of Trial ties the elements of a proposition to the structure of a trial. The opening statement is the enunciation and a bit of exposition, generally following the form of a Euclidean enunciation. Pleadings and jury instructions provide the specification. Presentation of evidence at trial (testimony and exhibits) corresponds to construction. The closing argument is the proof. The judge or jury provides the conclusion. We provide Lincoln examples and stories to illustrate these trial elements.

Lincoln was prolific in Illinois Supreme Court appeals, and they represent some of his best work. Appeals are theoretical, with fixed issues and a fixed record. Appeals discusses how modern appellate briefs generally conform to the structure of the elements of a proposition, then discusses the decision-making process of appellate judges, mainly from a Lincoln-era viewpoint. We discuss the merits of the U.S. Supreme Court opening its courtroom to live broadcasts of oral argument.

Jefferson and Lincoln notes that Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, studied Euclid’s Elements, and had Proclus’ commentaries on Euclid in his library. In 1918, Judge R. M. Wanamaker wondered where Lincoln got his logical order. The judge commented, He does not definitely advise us. Neither do any of his biographers. But then Judge Wanamaker came close to answering his own question. He noted that it is

more than passing strange that Lincoln’s early acquaintance with, and study of, the Declaration of Independence brought him directly and intimately in touch with this method of presentation and argument. That Declaration of Independence is naturally divisible into those same three parts, declaration, demonstration, dedication. It is most natural for us to presume that Lincoln, who studied and quoted the Declaration of Independence more frequently than any other American statesman of his own time, or any other, should have been strikingly impressed with the logical order so plainly and powerfully put in the Declaration of Independence, by his great prototype, Thomas Jefferson.¹⁰

Wanamaker came close, but did not realize that, rather than declaration, demonstration, and dedication, the Declaration of Independence maps directly into the six elements of a proposition—the exact same elements that significant Lincoln writings and speeches map into. This makes the strong intellectual bond between Jefferson and Lincoln more evident than ever.

In 1812, Jefferson wrote to John Adams, I have given up newspapers in exchange for Tacitus and Thucydides, for Newton and Euclid, and I find myself much the happier.¹¹ Euclid, the Apple of Newton’s Eye shows how Euclid’s logical structure was used in Newton’s Principia, and then was essentially lost by mathematicians and scientists. Newton’s Principia used geometric methods at a time when the mathematical world was going algebraic. The adoption of algebraic technique constituted a movement away from words to a streamlined language especially suited to numbers. The six elements that were firmly in the background of geometric propositions now seemed to disappear. After their long exile in disfavor, Lincoln redeemed them to breathe life into the structure of reason.

Lincoln used the term garbling when he accused Stephen A. Douglas of muddying the waters with misleading logic. How Does a Speech Mean? analyzes how Lincoln’s structural approach imposed clarity. Lincoln lost appeals to both Roger Taney and Stephen A. Douglas that arguably he should have won; perhaps this provided the motivation for Lincoln to internalize the elements of a proposition.

The Gettysburg Address is demarcated. Like in poetry, we see how form and structure influence substance and presentation. The elements of a proposition assist in texturing poetry into a Euclidean demonstration at precisely the right point for precisely the right effect. Two different demarcation techniques enable anyone to try their hand at demarcating Lincoln writings.

In Abraham Lincoln: The Great Demarcator, an I say table shows over a dozen specifications from Lincoln writings that are in classical format. This chapter ends with a challenge. Nearly anyone can use Lincoln’s technique for both personal excellence, and to insist on excellence from others. The elements of a proposition do not abide sophistry, particularly in an adversarial setting. Squeezing out sophistry is a matter of personal and national character.

The Conclusion discusses how close so many previous scholars came to discovering Lincoln’s unopened gift. Many who looked for the sixteenth president’s secret skirted the edges but did not persevere to the prize. The key, we discovered, is listening to Lincoln. We focused on primary sources, and, because the prize is multidisciplinary in substance, we applied the expertise of two authors, one a lawyer, the other an engineer with a mathematics background. This is what it took to finally get inside the head of a President who had one year of formal education!

A great person may be defined as one who stands out positively when past actions are judged by present standards. Even judged by this unfair standard, Lincoln comes out looking good. By his example Lincoln teaches both the responsibility to learn and how to do it. From his example one can learn how to demonstrate, argue and convince.

The key dates in the span from Lincoln to the present are: 1837, when Lincoln started law practice; 1970, the end of the era of Lincoln-like law practice; and the present. The comparison between Lincoln’s time and 1970 reveals more similarities than differences. Comparing 1837 to 1970 to the present reveals the evolution of law, technology and citizenship, from Lincoln to now. This opens a path to the post-2010 period—a future with massive potential for good.

The relationships between law and technology and between mathematics and communication show why it is desirable to learn about those disciplines. To help acquire and apply that knowledge, we examine the path of a lawsuit from multiple viewpoints. We use Lincoln’s own method, but without suffering the difficulties Lincoln endured. Structure is the enabler, then credibility and logic push the search for truth along the path to justice. Lincoln functions as a teaching tool applicable to past, present, and future.

The facts…are mainly old and familiar; nor is there anything new in the general use…[made] of them. If there shall be any novelty, it will be in the mode of presenting the facts, and the inferences and observations following that presentation.¹²

This is the opening of Lincoln’s Cooper Union speech. Within the old and familiar, visible yet invisible, are Lincoln’s secrets. The selection and ordering of facts already known can demonstrate a new reality—one that was always there, but hidden from plain view.

Chronological List of Lincoln Documents Demarcated According to the Elements of a Proposition

Chapter One

Lincoln the Law Student

This is a story about a man with a secret ready to be revealed. But first it is necessary to see what this man, President Abraham Lincoln, was made of. Some think that as a political leader he functioned as a dictator.¹ But Lincoln scholar Emanuel Hertz points out that many of the toughest issues he faced were legal in nature:

The problems of Lincoln’s presidency were for the most part legal problems and it is short of amazing that historians and biographers overlooked his wide assumption of power; his willingness to compensate slave holders; his interpretation of the Constitution as to the President’s war powers. The legal features of the Civil War; the law of treason; the treatment of Confederate leaders; the power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus; military rule and arbitrary arrests; martial law and military commissions; the Indemnity Act of 1863 covering the question of liability of federal officers for wrong done in their official capacity during the Civil War; the regime of conquest in occupied districts of the South; legal and constitutional problems of conscription; the right of confiscation; restoration of confiscated property; emancipation; state and federal relations during the Civil War; the partition of Virginia and the creation of West Virginia—these were some of the major problems which Lincoln the lawyer was called upon to define, interpret and pass upon.²

Friends from Illinois who knew Lincoln as a lawyer, such as Judge David Davis, former Lincoln law partner Stephen T. Logan, and fellow attorney Leonard Swett, were main backers who helped Lincoln obtain his third-ballot Republican presidential nomination in 1860. They believed in Lincoln’s ability to meet the looming challenges, whether political or legal in nature.³

In an 1895 Lincoln Day speech, William McKinley gave the following assessment of Lincoln’s preparation for the presidency. (Note: we have throughout retained the original spelling and punctuation in our use of 19th-century materials.) But the best training he had for the Presidency, after all, was his twenty three years arduous experience as a lawyer travelling the circuit of the courts of his district and State. Here he met in forensic contests, and frequently defeated, some of the most powerful legal minds of the west. In the higher courts he won still greater distinction in the important cases committed to his charge.⁴

Lincoln’s journey to this lofty level started with the basics. His formal education, birth to death, totaled less than one year.⁵ In 1858, Lincoln borrowed George Washington’s term defective⁶ to describe his own education.⁷ In a short 1859 autobiography Lincoln stated:

My father, at the death of his father, was but six years of age; and he grew up, litterally without education. He removed from Kentucky to what is now Spencer county, Indiana, in my eighth year. We reached our new home about the time the State came into the Union. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up. There were some schools, so called; but no qualification was ever required of a teacher, beyond "readin, writin, and cipherin," to the Rule of Three [a mechanical rule for solving proportions that emphasizes rote over understanding]. If a straggler supposed to understand latin, happened to sojourn in the neighborhood, he was looked upon as a wizzard. There was absolutely nothing to excite ambition for education. Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher to the Rule of Three; but that was all. I have not been to school since. The little advance I now have upon this store of education, I have picked up from time to time under the pressure of necessity.⁸

For an ordinary person, this backwoods (lack of) education would have been a serious impediment. But Lincoln refused to succumb to ignorance. He was a model for self-education. And that self-education, picked up from time to time under the pressure of necessity, showed focus, vision, insight and pragmatism, and facilitated logical reasoning, communication, and conflict resolution. Several of these areas will be addressed separately below.

Close friend Joshua Speed reported that Lincoln considered himself a slow learner, but once he learned something, he did not forget.⁹ Study and experience taught Lincoln both how to think and how to do. What Lincoln learned was rather ordinary; how he learned it frequently was not. His selection and leveraging of his knowledge seems simple only because of its elegance. The result was stunning—including the improbability of someone with such a humble background achieving it. Humility was one secret of Lincoln’s ability to learn and do.

Logical Reasoning

Joseph Gillespie, a fellow attorney and later an Illinois judge, wrote: He did not seem to think that to be of much value which could not be proven or rather demonstrated His love of and capacity for analysis was wonderful He analysed every proposition with startling clearness and only discussed those branches of his case upon which it hinged leaving the others clear out of view.¹⁰

While a student in a one-room school, Lincoln showed a keen mind for arithmetic, for several years keeping a sum book with results.¹¹ In school, he was at the head of his class.¹²

Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois, in 1831.¹³ In 1834, he became a surveyor there.¹⁴ He studied A System of Geometry and Trigonometry: Together with a Treatise on Surveying.¹⁵ From it he learned basic geometric definitions, rudimentary logic of geometric proofs, and trigonometry. His primary aim was to lay a practical foundation for surveying;¹⁶ but a critical mental path was forming.

At 40, after returning to Springfield from Congress, Lincoln began serious self-study of Euclid’s first six books. His purpose was to improve his ability to make logical legal arguments, or demonstrations. William Herndon, Lincoln’s law partner, reported that Lincoln, while traveling on the Eighth Circuit, stayed up late after everyone else was in bed. Concentrating through the snoring, Lincoln studied and learned Euclid by candlelight.¹⁷ Henry Whitney wrote about Lincoln: I once knew of his making a pupil of a hostler [horse caretaker] in his study of Euclid on the circuit. He did not, like Archimedes, run through the streets crying ‘Eureka!’ but he was so joyous at his geometrical lesson that he must share his happiness, even though he could find no better auditor than a stableman.¹⁸

George Anastaplo observed in 2005 that a knowledge of geometric logic improves one’s reasoning ability: "A proper study of geometry can help one grasp what it means not only to know something but also to be able to demonstrate (to share with others) what one has learned."¹⁹ (emphasis in original)

Oral Communication

Lincoln learned not only how to think but how to speak—well. Stephen A. Douglas was nicknamed the Little Giant for his short stature and great oratorical skills. Early in his career Douglas was regarded as far and away the foremost orator in Illinois.²⁰ Douglas described his education:

Upon removing to the State of New York in December, 1830, I became a student in the Academy in Canandaigua under the superintendence of Prof. Henry Howe, where I continued until the latter part of 1832. Whilst connected with the Academy at Canandaigua I devoted myself zealously to my studies, the Greek and Latin languages, mathematics, rhetoric, logic, &c., and made considerable improvement.²¹

This was the Douglas whom Lincoln took on in the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates during the 1858 United States Senate campaign—and Lincoln held his own, gaining national recognition.

From early on Lincoln seized opportunities to practice and improve his speaking. A young Abraham in Indiana gave speeches to children. He mounted a stump, chair or box and told stories and anecdotes.²² In one instance, at age 15, he amused children by standing on a stump and repeating almost word for word the sermon he had heard the Sunday before.²³ In his late teens Lincoln attended circuit court to observe trials. He attended an 1828 murder trial in Boonville, Indiana. At the trial, Lincoln heard attorney John Brackenridge speak. After 1828, Brackenridge moved to Texas, and Lincoln did not see him again until 1862. In 1862 Brackenridge met President Lincoln in Washington; Lincoln immediately recognized Brackenridge. Lincoln told Brackenridge that he had made up his mind to be a lawyer after hearing Brackenridge’s 1828 speech. Said Lincoln, It was the best speech that I, up to that time, Ever heard. If I could, as I then thought make as good a speech as that, that my Soul would be satisfied.²⁴

Even before he was a member of the bar, Lincoln represented people in the court of Justice of the Peace Bowling Green. Jason Duncan, a New Salem Lincoln contemporary, reported:

As there were no Attorneys nearer than Springfield his [Lincoln’s] services were sometimes sought in suits, at law. and he frequently consented to appear before Esq Bowling Greens’ court, to argue cases. but never charged his clients any fees so far as I Knew, the only lawbook which Mr Lincoln had in his possession was the first Old revised code of Illinois. from this he drew all his legal knowledge, the manner in which he used to force his law arguments upon Esqr Bowling Green was both amuseing and instructive, so laconic often as to produce a spasmatic shaking of the verry fat sides of the old law functionary of New Salem—Bowling Green permitted him to speak at first more for amusement than any thing else. but in a short time was led to pay great respect to his powers of mind in a forensic point of view.²⁵

Lincoln ran for the Illinois General Assembly in 1832 and lost. He ran again in 1834, 1836, 1838 and 1840, winning four consecutive terms. Candidate Lincoln gave many speeches. His knack for the effective thrust is evident in this example, described at length by Joshua Speed:

In 1836 Mr Lincoln was a whig candidate for the Legislature in Sangamon County. At that time he resided in the lower part of the County near Petersburg—I was a merchant in Springfield had never seen him—but had heard of his power upon the stump from the young men in that part of the County—They were proud of him, and spoke of him in high terms of encomium—A short time before the election, he made a speech in Springfield, in the old Court house where the State house now stands—The crowd was large. His friends & admirers had Come in from the Country—I remember that his speech was a very able one, using with great power and originality all the arguments then used to sustain the principles of the Whig party, as against its great rival the Democratic party of that day—The speech produced a profound impression—The Crowd was with him—The Candidates in opposition and the party opposed to him felt it—Depression on one side & exultation on the other was evident—Mr George Forquer an old Citizen, a man of recognized prominence & ability as a lawyer was present—Forquer had been a whig—one of the Champions of the party—But had then recently joined the Democratic party and Almost simultaneous with his change—had been appointed Register of the land office—which office he then held—Just about that time Mr F had Completed a neat frame house—the best house then in the village of Springfield and upon it had erected a lightning rod—the only one in the place and the first one Mr Lincoln had ever observed—He afterwards told me that seeing Forquers lightning rod had led him to the study of the properties of electricity & the utility of the rod as a Conductor—At the Conclusion of Lincolns speech the Crowd was about dispersing when Forquer rose and asked to be heard—He commenced by saying that this young man would have to be taken down and was sorry that the task devolved upon him—He then proceeded to answer Linclns speech in a style which while it was able and fair—in his whole manner asserted & claimed superiority—Lincoln stood near him and watched him during the whole of his Speech—When Forquer Concluded he took the stand again—I have heard him often since—in Court and before the people—but never saw him appear so well as upon that occasion—He replied to Mr F with great dignity and force—But I shall never forget the conclusion of that speech—Turning to Mr F. he said that he had Commenced his speech by announcing that this young man would have to be taken down—Turning then to the Crowd he said it is for you, not for me to say whether I am up or down. The gentleman has alluded to my being a young man—I am older in years than I am in the tricks and trades of politicians—I desire to live—and I disire place and distinction as a politician—but I would rather die now than like the gentleman live to see the day that I would have to

Reviews for Abraham Lincoln and the Structure of Reason

[Derek Veazey · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Has some interesting thoughts, but the frequent long blocks of quoted passages are annoying to the point that I DNF.