LINCOLN, Abraham. Autograph manuscript signed ("A. Lincoln"), Sangamon County, November 1851. A legal pleading in the case of Alton and Sangamon Railroad Co. v. James A. Baret. 2 pages, 4to, small, discreet repairs at edges of creases .
LINCOLN, Abraham. Autograph manuscript signed ("A. Lincoln"), Sangamon County, November 1851. A legal pleading in the case of Alton and Sangamon Railroad Co. v. James A. Baret. 2 pages, 4to, small, discreet repairs at edges of creases . AN IMPORTANT LEGAL PLEADING ENTIRELY IN LINCOLN'S HAND, IN A PIVOTAL CASE IN HIS CAREER Lincoln's neatly written complaint on behalf of the Alton and Sangamon Railroad, demands that James A. Barret honor his commitment to purchase $1,350 in company stock. Barret was a real estate speculator who owned considerable land near New Berlin, along the route initially proposed for the company's rail line--"the value of which," Lincoln writes, "would be much enhanced by the construction of the road through that place." But four years after gaining their initial charter, the company put a bill through the state legislature, in June 1851, that changed the proposed route and by-passed New Berlin. Barret withheld his payments in the hopes that other disgruntled investors would do likewise and force the company to stick to their original route. The stakes in this litigation were high and Lincoln worked energetically with company directors both in Illinois and New York to provide documentation justifying their route change. He (in his own words) "labored hard to find the law" in support of his claim. It paid off. Lincoln prevailed at both the lower court and on appeal, with Chief Justice Samuel Treat of the Illinois Supreme Court holding that a "few obstinate stockholders should not be permitted to deprive the public and the company of the advantages that will result from a superior and less expensive route." This ruling became an important precedent for the principle that corporate charters could be amended in the public interest and "it established Lincoln as one of the most prominent and successful practitioners of railroad law" (David Herbert Donald, Lincoln , 155).
LINCOLN, Abraham. Autograph manuscript signed ("A. Lincoln"), Sangamon County, November 1851. A legal pleading in the case of Alton and Sangamon Railroad Co. v. James A. Baret. 2 pages, 4to, small, discreet repairs at edges of creases .
LINCOLN, Abraham. Autograph manuscript signed ("A. Lincoln"), Sangamon County, November 1851. A legal pleading in the case of Alton and Sangamon Railroad Co. v. James A. Baret. 2 pages, 4to, small, discreet repairs at edges of creases . AN IMPORTANT LEGAL PLEADING ENTIRELY IN LINCOLN'S HAND, IN A PIVOTAL CASE IN HIS CAREER Lincoln's neatly written complaint on behalf of the Alton and Sangamon Railroad, demands that James A. Barret honor his commitment to purchase $1,350 in company stock. Barret was a real estate speculator who owned considerable land near New Berlin, along the route initially proposed for the company's rail line--"the value of which," Lincoln writes, "would be much enhanced by the construction of the road through that place." But four years after gaining their initial charter, the company put a bill through the state legislature, in June 1851, that changed the proposed route and by-passed New Berlin. Barret withheld his payments in the hopes that other disgruntled investors would do likewise and force the company to stick to their original route. The stakes in this litigation were high and Lincoln worked energetically with company directors both in Illinois and New York to provide documentation justifying their route change. He (in his own words) "labored hard to find the law" in support of his claim. It paid off. Lincoln prevailed at both the lower court and on appeal, with Chief Justice Samuel Treat of the Illinois Supreme Court holding that a "few obstinate stockholders should not be permitted to deprive the public and the company of the advantages that will result from a superior and less expensive route." This ruling became an important precedent for the principle that corporate charters could be amended in the public interest and "it established Lincoln as one of the most prominent and successful practitioners of railroad law" (David Herbert Donald, Lincoln , 155).
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!
Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.
Create an alert
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
