James Speed (March 11, 1812 – June 25, 1887) was an American lawyer, politician, and professor who was in 1864 appointed by

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

to be the

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

. Speed previously served in the

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

legislature and in local political offices.

Early life

Speed was born in

Jefferson County, Kentucky Jefferson County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 782,969. It is the most populous county in the commonwealth (with more than twice the population of sec ...

to Judge

John Speed John Speed (1551 or 1552 – 28 July 1629) was an English cartographer, chronologer and historian of Cheshire origins.; superseding . The son of a citizen and Merchant Taylor in London,"Life of John Speed", ''The Hibernian Magazine, Or, Compe ...

and his second wife, Lucy Gilmer Fry. He was a distant descendant of the English cartographer

and brother of Joshua Fry Speed. He graduated from St. Joseph's College in

Bardstown, Kentucky Bardstown is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 13,567 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the list of counties in Kentucky, county seat of Nelson Count ...

, studied law at

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...

and was admitted to the bar at

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, in 1833.

Career

In 1841 Speed met fellow lawyer and future President

while Lincoln was staying at Farmington, the Speed family home in Louisville, while visiting James's brother, Joshua (whom he had befriended while the two lived in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

). During Lincoln's stay, the two lawyers met almost daily to discuss legal matters of the day. James Speed lent Lincoln books from his law library. Unlike his brother Joshua, James Speed opposed slavery and was active in the Whig Party. In 1847 Speed was elected to the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

. At this early point in his career, Speed was already agitating for the

emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...

of American slaves. However, Kentucky voters did not share these views, and he failed to win election as delegate to the 1849 Kentucky Constitutional Convention. From 1851 to 1854, Speed served on the

Louisville Board of Aldermen The Louisville Board of Aldermen was the legislative branch of government for the City of Louisville prior to its merger with Jefferson County in 2003. It comprised twelve wards. History From its earliest days Louisville was governed by a board ...

, including two years as its president. He taught as a professor in the Law Department of the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

from 1856 to 1858, and would later return to teach from 1872 to 1879. He was also a member of the Louisville law firm Stites & Harbison.

Civil War era

As the coming

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

was increasing in likelihood, Speed worked to keep Kentucky in the Union. He also became a commander of the Louisville Home Guard. Elected to the

Kentucky Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout Kentucky, the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky senators. T ...

in 1861, Speed became the leader of the pro-Union forces. In 1862 he introduced a bill to "confiscate the property" of those supporting the Confederacy in Kentucky. In December 1864, United States President

appointed Speed

Attorney General of the United States The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...

. After Lincoln's assassination, Speed became increasingly associated with the Radical Republicans and advocated allowing male African Americans to vote. Disillusioned with the increasingly conservative policies of former Democratic President

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

, Speed resigned from the Cabinet in July 1866 and resumed the practice of law.

Postwar career

Speed was a delegate to the National Union Convention in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1866 and fellow delegates chose him as the convention's president. However, Speed's racial views were unpopular in Kentucky. Speed ran to become U.S. Senator from Kentucky in 1867, as President Johnson's ally Senator James Guthrie (a Unionist and former slaveholder) retired citing health issues. However, voters instead elected Democrat Thomas C. McCreery. In 1868, Speed ran for the Republican nomination for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

but the convention instead chose

Schuyler Colfax Schuyler Colfax Jr. ( ; March 23, 1823January 13, 1885) was an American journalist, businessman, and politician who served as the 17th vice president of the United States from 1869 to 1873, and prior to that as the 25th Speaker of the United Sta ...

. Speed also ran for U.S. Representative from Kentucky's 5th District in 1870, to succeed Democrat Asa Grover, who had been accused of disloyalty but was exonerated and finished his only term. However, voters instead selected Democrat Boyd Winchester to fill the seat. Speed also was a delegate to

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

from Kentucky in 1872. He was elected a 3rd class companion of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

in recognition of his service to the Union during the Civil War.

Death and legacy

Speed died in Louisville in 1887, and is interred at Cave Hill Cemetery in that city. His family's estate, Farmington, is now listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, and while the farm is substantially reduced in size, the house has been restored and has become a local event venue, and the focus of living history events.

In popular culture

*Speed was portrayed by William von Hardenburg in the 1924 film '' The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln''. *The actor John Lescault portrayed Speed in the 1998 television film '' The Day Lincoln Was Shot''. *In the 2012 film '' Lincoln'', James Speed was portrayed by Richard Topol.

References

External links

Mr. Lincoln's White House: James Speed Biography
* — Article by Civil War historian/author Bryan S. Bush * {{DEFAULTSORT:Speed, James 1812 births 1887 deaths American abolitionists Kentucky state senators Louisville, Kentucky, in the American Civil War Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky People of Kentucky in the American Civil War Union (American Civil War) political leaders Attorneys general of the United States University of Louisville faculty Transylvania University alumni Kentucky lawyers Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Kentucky Whigs Kentucky Republicans Lincoln administration cabinet members Andrew Johnson administration cabinet members Southern Unionists in the American Civil War Speed family 19th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly