Lincoln's Ladder to the Presidency

The Eighth Judicial Circuit

By: Guy C. Fraker

Narrated by: Don Sobczak

Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Throughout his 23-year legal career, Abraham Lincoln spent nearly as much time on the road as an attorney for the Eighth Judicial Circuit as he did in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois. Yet, most historians gloss over the time and instead have Lincoln emerge fully formed as a skillful politician in 1858.

In this innovative volume, Guy C. Fraker provides the first ever study of Lincoln's professional and personal home away from home and demonstrates how the Eighth Judicial Circuit and its people propelled Lincoln to the presidency.

Each spring and fall, Lincoln traveled to as many as 14 county seats in the Eighth Judicial Circuit to appear in consecutive court sessions over a 10-to 12-week period. Fraker describes the people and counties that Lincoln encountered, discusses key cases Lincoln handled, and introduces the important friends he made, friends who eventually formed the team that executed Lincoln's nomination strategy at the Chicago Republican Convention in 1860 and won him the presidential nomination.

As Fraker shows, the Eighth Judicial Circuit provided the perfect setting for the growth and ascension of Lincoln. A complete portrait of the sixteenth president depends on a full understanding of his experience on the circuit, and Lincoln's Ladder to the Presidency provides that understanding as well as a fresh perspective on the much studied figure, thus deepening our understanding of the roots of his political influence and acumen.

©2012 The Board of Trustees, Southern Illinois University (P)2013 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“Guy Fraker's superb book about Abraham Lincoln and the Illinois Eighth Judicial Circuit provides an effective lesson on the importance of political networking… Fraker's book is great history, but it is also an excellent primer for aspiring politicians.” (Jim Edgar, Illinois governor, 1991 - 1999)

“...a refreshing and revisioning portrait of Lincoln the Illinois lawyer..." (Ronald C. White Jr., author of A. Lincoln: A Biography)

“...richly detailed account of Abraham Lincoln's life on the Eighth Judicial Circuit... Fraker provides a comprehensive view of Lincoln's life in law and politics on the Illinois prairie.” (John Hoffmann, Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign)

Outstanding book recounting Lincoln’s life and law practice in central Illinois

As a lifelong resident of Coles County Illinois and an attorney and Judge who has had the honor to practice law in most of the counties of the “old” 8th circuit, I found attorney Fraker’s book to be the most descriptive and accurate history of Lincoln’s life on the circuit of any other Lincoln book I have read. More than simply a history of Lincoln, Fraker’s work is a beautifully descriptive story of the early history of central Illinois and the lawyers who helped Lincoln enrich and develop our communities. Thank you Mr. Fraker! Judge Mitchell Shick