David Davis (1815-1886)
“I think I can safely say that of all living men you have no truer more devoted friend and admirer than in the person of Judge Davis. And if I were going to select that man of all others whom we are under the greatest obligations for your nomination at Chicago I unhesitating say it was him ….” - Jesse Fell to Abraham Lincoln, 1860
- In 1836, Davis purchased Jesse Fell’s law practice and moved to Bloomington.
- In 1843, Davis bought Jesse Fell’s farm located on the eastern part of Bloomington. This land would later become the site of their elegant mansion, “Clover Lawn.” The mansion was designed by Alfred Piquenard.
- In 1848 he was elected judge of Illinois’s Eight Judicial Circuit Court.
- Lincoln and Davis often journeyed together throughout the fourteen counties that made up the Circuit—Sangamon, Tazewell, Woodford, McLean, Logan, DeWitt, Piatt, Champaign, Vermillion, Shelby, Moultrie, Macon, and Christian. The Circuit consisted of approximately 11,000 square miles, a territory nearly the size of the state of Connecticut.
- Judge David Davis was instrumental in Abraham Lincoln’s presidential nomination in 1860.
- He assembled a team of mostly Eighth Judicial Court lawyers to serve as delegates including Jesse Fell, Isaac Funk, Ward Hill Lamon, and Dr. George Winfield Stipp.
- When Lincoln was elected President, David accompanied him on the train from Indianapolis, Indiana to Washington, D.C.
- He was nominated to the Supreme Court by Abraham Lincoln in October of 1862. This was Lincoln's 3rd nomination to the Supreme Court.
Lincoln's Nomination, David Davis, and Patronage
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“Judge Davis possessed an energetic, restless spirit, and as soon as Lincoln had received the nomination (which had been achieved largely through the efforts of the Judge) he thought he ought to be consulted and counseled with, as to the appointments and policy of the incoming administration. But Lincoln didn’t seem inclined to that view of the case at all; in fact, the only man in our old circuit that he consulted with at all on national subjects was Leonard Swett, and there were but two other Illinois men whom he thus honored, viz.: Norman B. Judd and Elihu B. Washburne.” - Henry Clay Whitney, after Lincoln's nomination (italics added) |
The Republican Convention to nominate a presidential candidate met in Chicago, Illinois from May 16-18, 1860. William Seward was the front runner of the convention, but political maneuvering from Davis and his contingent of Lincoln delegates worked to secure Lincoln's nomination as the Republican candidate. Read the sources below to see how different parts of the nation responded to Lincoln's nomination and his subsequent cabinet nominations.
Primary Sources on the Convention at the Wigwam:
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“In regard to the patronage sought with so much eagerness and jealousy, I have prescribed for myself the maxim ‘Fairness to all;’ and I earnestly beseech your cooperation in keeping the maxim good.” - Abraham Lincoln as recorded by John G. Nicolay |
Civil Liberties During Wartime - Charleston Riot and Habeas Corpus
On March 28, 1864, Union soldiers home on leave clashed with antiwar Democrats on the Coles County courthouse square in Charleston, Illinois. They were fighting over the release of detainees. When the violent confrontation ended, six soldiers and three civilians were dead and twelve others wounded in what was one of the deadliest Civil War riots in the North.
David Davis opposed Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus. This became recently known because of the discovery and interpretation from Peter Barry of three letters written from Davis to Lincoln from July 1-5, 1864.
David Davis opposed Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus. This became recently known because of the discovery and interpretation from Peter Barry of three letters written from Davis to Lincoln from July 1-5, 1864.
Related Articles and Documents:
- A proclamation on the suspension of habeas corpus, 1862, Abraham Lincoln
- Abraham Lincoln to Erastus Corning and others (June 12, 1863), Abraham Lincoln
- Lincoln's Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus: An Historical and Constitutional Analysis, James A. Dueholm
- "I'll keep them in prison awhile ...": Abraham Lincoln and David Davis on Civil Liberties in Wartime, Peter Barry
- The Charleston Riot and its Aftermath: Civil, Military, and Presidential Responses, Peter Barry
- Civil Liberties in Wartime Timeline
Abraham Lincoln's Estate
"This nation is striken by a great calamity and a great sorrow. My sorrow is a double one. I sorrow, not only as a citizen of the United States, but as a personal and devoted friend of the President.
The President of the United States has been murdered. Atrocious crimes, with few parallels in history have been committed. Let us take a day for reflection and meet on Monday and give public expression to our feelings and duties."
- David Davis, quoted in the Chicago Times, April 17, 1865
On the morning of Lincoln's death, Robert Todd Lincoln wrote a telegram to David Davis and said, "PLEASE come at once to Washington & take charge of my father's affairs." Later in his life, Robert would reflect on his affection for David Davis.
"I cannot remember when I did not know Judge Davis, first as the Circuit Judge of whom I heard as a boy everything good from my father and who was very kind to me. Upon my father's death I went to Judge Davis as a second father, and this he was to me until his death. I am deeply indebted to him for counsel and affectionate help on many occasions and revere his memory." - Robert Todd Lincoln, letter to Thomas Dent, September 12, 1919 |
Related Articles and Documents:
- Personal Finances of Abraham Lincoln, Harry E. Pratt
- Robert Todd Lincoln and the "Purely Private" Papers Letters of the Lincoln Family
- Are You Better Prepared than Abraham Lincoln Was? Forbes, Danielle and Andy Mayoras