John Todd Stuart (November 10, 1807 – November 28, 1885) was a lawyer and a
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
.
Born near
Lexington, Kentucky, Stuart graduated from
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is a ...
,
Danville, Kentucky, in 1826. He then studied law, was
admitted to the bar
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...
in 1828, and commenced practice in
Springfield, Illinois. He was a major in the
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...
in 1832, where he first met
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, who was in the same battalion as Stuart.
He served as member of the
Illinois House of Representatives between 1832 and 1836. Stuart encouraged Lincoln to study law and the two subsequently became law partners, between 1837 and 1841. If not for Stuart's influence, it is conceivable that Lincoln might never have been interested in the law - and thus, might not ever have become president.
Stuart was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1836 to the
Twenty-fifth Congress. He was, however, elected as a
Whig to the
Twenty-sixth and
Twenty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1839 - March 3, 1843), winning over
Stephen A. Douglas in 1838. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1842.
Stuart established a law partnership with
Benjamin S. Edwards in 1843, a partnership that would last for forty years. Stuart served as member of the
Illinois Senate between 1848 and 1852. He was the unsuccessful
Constitutional Union candidate for
Governor of Illinois
The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...
in 1860.
Stuart was elected as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
to the
Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863 - March 3, 1865), and served there while Lincoln was president. His vote on the
Thirteenth Amendment is recorded as Nay.
Stuart was a favorite cousin of
Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) served as First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
Mary Lincoln was a member of a large and wealthy, slave-owning ...
and as a member of Congress after his election in 1862 over Republican Leonard Swett was a frequent visitor at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
even though he was an
anti-emancipation Democrat.
He was defeated in 1864 by Republican
Shelby Moore Cullom
Shelby Moore Cullom (November 22, 1829 – January 28, 1914) was a U.S. political figure, serving in various offices, including the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate and the 17th Governor of Illinois.
Life and ca ...
, a Lincoln ally.
Following his defeat in 1864, Stuart resumed the practice of law in Springfield. He died there and was interred in the
Oak Ridge Cemetery
Oak Ridge Cemetery is an American cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.
The Lincoln Tomb, where Abraham Lincoln, his wife and all but one of their children lie, is here, as are the graves of other prominent Illinois figures. Thus, it is the seco ...
.
In the fall of 2007, Centre College (Stuart's alma mater) dedicated Stuart Hall, a building that once housed the College's bookstore but is now a residence hall, in honor of the influence Stuart had over Lincoln's career path as well as Stuart's contribution to law.
The firm that he founded in Springfield Illinois, once known as "Stuart and Lincoln," is still operating under the name "Brown, Hay, & Stephens," and includes his great-great-grandson as a partner.
References
Congressional BiographyRobert A. Stuart, Jr. ''Leading Lawyers Network''. Accessed March 4, 2009.
*Paul M. Angle, "One Hundred Years of Law," Springfield, Illinois: Brown, Hay and Stephens, 1928.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, John Todd
1807 births
1885 deaths
Illinois state senators
Members of the Illinois House of Representatives
Politicians from Springfield, Illinois
Centre College alumni
Illinois lawyers
Illinois Whigs
Illinois Constitutional Unionists
American people of the Black Hawk War
Abraham Lincoln
United States Army officers
Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois
19th-century American politicians