Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Co.
{{Short description|Civil case argued by Abraham Lincoln}}
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{{Infobox court case
|name = Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company
|court = United States Circuit Court for Northern Illinois (U.S. Circuit Court at Chicago)
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|date decided = {{start date|1857|09|08}}
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Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company (1857) is an American civil case that allowed railroads to continue to cross the Mississippi River on bridges, over the protests of steamboat enterprises that requested unfettered access to the channel. One of the lawyers for the rail companies, Abraham Lincoln, earned some degree of fame for his victory, which later led to him becoming the President of the United States.
Case
America's expansion west, which Lincoln strongly supported, was seen as an economic threat to the river trade, which ran north-to-south, primarily on the Mississippi River. In 1856, a steamboat collided with the Rock Island bridge, built by the Rock Island Railroad, between Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa.McGinty, Brian. Lincoln's Greatest Case: The River, the Bridge, and the Making of America. United States: Liveright, 2015. It was the first railroad bridge to span the Mississippi. The steamboat owner, Captain John Hurd, filed suit in the U.S. Circuit Court at Chicago for damages and claimed the bridge was a hazard to navigation.{{Cite news
| magazine = Prologue Magazine
| url = https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/summer/bridge.html
| access-date = 2020-03-09
| title = The Railroads and Steamboats Clash at the Rock Island Bridge
| publisher = National Archives
| first = David A.
| last = Pfeiffer
| date = Summer 2004
| volume = 36
| issue = 2
}}
Lincoln was lead counsel in court for the railroad, in a jury trial before the United States Circuit Court for Northern Illinois in Chicago. The trial was presided over by Supreme Court justice John McLean. The jury deadlocked at 9 to 3 in the railroad's favor.{{Cite web
| url = https://www.indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/90e2b355c45b405bd162229179644b27.pdf
| format = PDF
| work = Biennial Railroad Symposium 2005: Lincoln and the Railroads
| access-date = 2020-03-09
| title = Lincoln and the Rock Island Bridge Case
| first = James W. Jr.
| last = Ely
| year = 2005
}} Although the case did not reach a final judgment, observers considered the outcome a surprising victory for the railroad. Lincoln's role in the case helped solidify his reputation as a skilled trial attorney.
The legal issues around the Rock Island Bridge were not fully resolved until the United States Supreme Court ruled on a different case, Mississippi and Missouri Railroad Company v. Ward, in 1863. By recognizing the railroad's right to place a bridge across the waterway, the resolution of the matter in the railroad's favor removed a costly impediment to railroad expansion west of the Mississippi River.
References
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External links
- [http://www.lib.niu.edu/1998/ihy980236.html Illinois periodicals article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617012349/http://www.lib.niu.edu/1998/ihy980236.html |date=June 17, 2011 }}
- [https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/summer/bridge.html US national archives page]
{{Abraham Lincoln}}
Category:1857 in United States case law
Category:Law articles needing an infobox
Category:Illinois state case law