Presidents Day Fun Facts
legal industry impact
Here are some notable examples of presidents who influenced the U.S. legal system through their policies, contributions, and appointments.
Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809):
Jefferson, the third president, was a principal author of the Declaration of Independence and played a key role in shaping early American legal principles.
His advocacy for individual rights and his commitment to a legal system based on the rule of law left a lasting influence.
Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865):
Lincoln, the 16th president, is often regarded as one of the greatest legal minds to occupy the White House.
As a lawyer, he practiced in Illinois and argued cases before the Illinois Supreme Court. His leadership during the Civil War also had a profound impact on constitutional law.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945):
FDR, the 32nd president, appointed numerous Supreme Court justices and implemented New Deal policies that transformed the legal landscape.
The expansion of federal regulatory power and the establishment of Social Security are among the legal changes associated with his presidency.
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969):
LBJ, the 36th president, signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, which aimed to end discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
This landmark legislation had a profound impact on civil rights law and marked a significant step forward in equal protection under the law.
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989):
Reagan, the 40th president, emphasized a conservative approach to the law and appointed justices such as Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court.
His administration contributed to the development of conservative legal thought, particularly in areas such as constitutional interpretation and federalism.
Barack Obama (2009-2017):
As the 44th president, Obama made historic judicial appointments, including the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.
His administration also addressed legal issues such as healthcare reform and immigration.
Each of these presidents left a distinct mark on the legal landscape, contributing to the evolution of legal principles, the judiciary, and the overall structure of the legal system in the United States.
Presidents who were attorneys:
John Adams (2nd President, 1797-1801): Adams attended Harvard and went on to study law in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Thomas Jefferson (3rd President, 1801-1809): Jefferson was a self-taught lawyer.
James Monroe (5th President, 1817-1825): Monroe studied law at the College of William and Mary.
John Quincy Adams (6th President, 1825-1829): Adams earned his law degree from Harvard.
Martin Van Buren (8th President, 1837-1841): Van Buren studied law independently and became a practicing attorney.
John Tyler (10th President, 1841-1845): Tyler studied law independently and later attended law school briefly.
James K. Polk (11th President, 1845-1849): Polk studied law at the University of North Carolina.
Millard Fillmore (13th President, 1850-1853): Fillmore studied law and apprenticed with a judge.
Franklin Pierce (14th President, 1853-1857): Pierce studied law at Northampton Law School.
James Buchanan (15th President, 1857-1861): Buchanan studied law at Dickinson College.
Abraham Lincoln (16th President, 1861-1865): Lincoln was largely self-taught and is considered one of the best lawyers of all time.
Rutherford B. Hayes (19th President, 1877-1881): Hayes studied law at Harvard Law School.
Benjamin Harrison (23rd President, 1889-1893): Harrison studied law at the University of Cincinnati.
Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th President, non-consecutive terms 1885-1889 and 1893-1897): Cleveland studied law independently.
William Howard Taft (27th President, 1909-1913): Taft earned a law degree from the University of Cincinnati.
Woodrow Wilson (28th President, 1913-1921): Wilson earned a law degree from the University of Virginia.
Calvin Coolidge (30th President, 1923-1929): Coolidge earned a law degree from Amherst College.
Herbert Hoover (31st President, 1929-1933): Hoover studied law at Stanford University.
Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd President, 1933-1945): Roosevelt earned a law degree from Columbia University.
Richard Nixon (37th President, 1969-1974): Nixon earned a law degree from Duke University.
Gerald Ford (38th President, 1974-1977): Ford earned a law degree from Yale University.
Bill Clinton (42nd President, 1993-2001): Clinton earned a law degree from Yale Law School.
Barack Obama (44th President, 2009-2017): Obama earned a law degree from Harvard Law School.
Abraham Lincoln is amongst one of the greatest lawyers of all time
Abe Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, and a great American lawyer was infamous for winning a murder case as a criminal defense attorney by using an almanac to argue his client’s innocence. And because of his upstanding work with his clients, Lincoln eventually earned the reputation and nickname of “Honest Abe.”
In 1857, Duff Armstrong and a man named Norris were accused of killing a man in a drunken brawl. Norris was tried and convicted in another trial while Duff was awaiting his day in court. At this point in Lincoln’s legal career he had over 20 years of practice and had handled over 4000 civil cases and only a few hundred criminal cases. Approximately a dozen of the criminal cases were murder cases, and he lost half of them. But despite the odds not being in his favor, Lincoln took the Duff Armstrong case pro bono as a favor for a friend. At a pivotal point in the case, Lincoln destroyed the testimony of a key witness who claimed to witness the murder because he could see far enough under the moonlight. Lincoln used an almanac to give the impression that the witness could not have seen the murder because there was not enough moonlight at the time of the murder. But while the most famous part of this story is the almanac argument, this alone did not win the case. Lincoln also brought in key witnesses—one person who claimed the weapon used belonged to him not the accused, a doctor who said that the injury to the back of the head could be caused by a blow to the front of the head, and finally he gave an impassioned speech about how much he valued his relationship with the Armstrong family. It was all of that together that got Lincoln’s client acquitted and eventually helped him become one of the most famous lawyers of all time.
Reference source: Four Famous Lawyers in History Every Attorney Should Know About.