📖 A Lesson in Humility: How Lincoln Won a Case With a Poem

Print by Lloyd Ostendorf

Abraham Lincoln handled between three and six thousand cases during his twenty‑three years’ practice as an attorney‑at‑law. [1] This is one of the earliest — and one of the most revealing.

In the early days of his Springfield law practice, Lincoln found himself in a jury trial in Sangamon County with a young attorney eager to prove himself.

His name was James C. Conkling — fresh from Princeton (then called The College of New Jersey), full of confidence, and determined to show Springfield what an educated young man could do.

Conkling delivered a long, polished, self‑important argument.
He quoted authorities.
He gestured.
He thundered.
He made sure the jury knew exactly where he’d gone to school.

Lincoln said nothing.

He had waived his opening remarks and let the young man warm himself up with a showy argument — all puff and polish and Princeton pride.

When Lincoln finally rose, the courtroom leaned in.
Here came the rebuttal.
Here came the logic.
Here came the famous Lincoln clarity.

Except… none of that happened.

Lincoln didn’t even mention the case.
Not once.

Instead, he told a story.

He spoke of Johnnie Kongapod, a Native American from Sangamon County who had befriended missionaries, learned to read and write, and developed a love for poetry. Before his death, Johnnie composed his own epitaph:

Here lies poor Johnnie Kongapod;
Have mercy on him, gracious God,
As he would do if he were God
And you were Johnnie Kongapod.

The courtroom erupted.
The poem had nothing to do with the case — and everything to do with the moment.

Lincoln didn’t need to attack Conkling’s argument.
He simply showed the jury what unnecessary words sounded like.

They got the message.

The verdict went to Lincoln’s client.

And Conkling — who later became one of Lincoln’s political allies — never forgot the lesson:
In a courtroom, humility and clarity beat bravado every time.

Another glimpse into the archives of Abraham Lincoln, Storyteller.

Mac

📚 Works Cited

[1] Mintz, Steven. Abraham Lincoln and the Law. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Mintz offers a conservative estimate of roughly 3,000 cases during Lincoln’s legal career. The Papers of Abraham Lincoln (Illinois Historic Preservation Agency) document more than 5,600 cases based on surviving docket books and filings. Together, these sources place Lincoln’s total caseload between three and six thousand cases.

[2] Browne, Francis Fisher (1913) The Every-Day Life of Abraham Lincoln. Chicago, IL: Browne and Howell Company; pages 241–242.