In my last blog I talked about Gary Lee Williams’ Ph.D. dissertation that recounted the connections between Abraham Lincoln and Joshua and James Speed. Most of that discussion dealt with Lincoln and Joshua. Before I leave the topic of Lincoln’s Kentucky Friends, I wanted to mention James Speed.
It is difficult to underestimate the importance of the friendship between Joshua Speed and Abraham Lincoln. I think it can be argued, however, that the relationship between James Speed and Lincoln had some major consequences for Kentucky and the whole country.
James Speed took a much more public position in the era of the Civil War than did his brother. An attorney in Louisville, James’ views about enslavement began to evolve fairly early in his life. Though not fully addressed in Williams’ dissertation, James emancipated his slaves well before the Civil War. Some theories persist that James may actually have purchased several enslaved people and ushered them to Canada where they were freed.
Williams does a good job explaining this evolution of James’ views about enslavement. Indeed, as Lincoln began his second term, he found himself in need of a new Attorney General. Though not his first choice, Lincoln turned to James Speed to take the position.
This choice was fascinating. James checked a lot of boxes for Lincoln. He was from a border state which helped “balance” the cabinet with members from different regions. James had (briefly) been a Democrat before the war which gave credibility to Lincoln’s efforts for a coalition government. But even more interesting is the revelation that by this point, James was being associated with the Radical Republicans–those Republicans who favored the abolition of slavery and some process by which the Freedpeople could be guaranteed their rights and economic independence.
James was not always consistent in his actions. As Attorney General he made some decisions that were critical but often were questionable. For example, it was James who gave the legal authority for Lincoln’s assassination conspirators to be tried by a military court instead of a civil court even though civil courts were still functioning in the District of Columbia. It was James who chose not to pursue a trial of treason against Jefferson Davis but left him imprisoned at Fort Monroe.
Eventually, James’ radical views would clash with new President Andrew Johnson who was perhaps the most racist president in American history. James resigned from the office of Attorney General. Amazingly, James seemed to never be personally antagonistic toward Johnson and by all accounts acted civilly in his dealings with the president even when they disagreed.
James Speed returned to Louisville where he joined a law firm that still exists today (by a different name). He became a devoted professor at the University of Louisville School of Law. Perhaps more significantly, he began to work to establish the Republican Party in Kentucky. He served as a delegate to party conventions and was even in the conversation for the vice- presidency one year.
If you have studied Kentucky history in the post Civil War years, you know that James’ efforts to lift Kentucky beyond its Jim Crow inclinations were unsuccessful. He never stopped trying, however. In his day, he, in fact, was remarkably “radical” in working for a Kentucky and a nation that would recognize human rights for all of its people.
My best to all of yours,
David