Amateur historian discovers unknown Lincoln case that will be subject of radio documentary
Carl Adams is feeling vindicated these days. As an amateur historian who's followed Abraham Lincoln's career as a lawyer in Illinois since the mid-1990s, Adams has made a point of researching a case that originated in Pekin involving slavery.
But other historians didn't think the little-known case that came before the Illinois Supreme Court in 1841 was all that significant, said Adams, referring to reactions to a presentation he made 10 years ago.
But Adams got a different response when he spoke at a Lincoln program last year at Millikin University in Decatur. Eileen McMahon, a history professor at Lewis University in Romeoville, who also serves as editor of the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, approached Adams after his talk.
"She said that it was the only story she's heard about Lincoln that was really new. She asked me to write about it for the journal," he said.
Adams' article appeared in the journal's Lincoln bicentennial issue that was just published, detailing how Lincoln helped free an African-American girl named Nance in the David Bailey-versus-Nathan Cromwell case 25 years before the signing of the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.
The case, significant because it details how a little-known lawyer was able to record such a decisive victory in Illinois, a state not known for its liberal ideas on slavery, comes to radio this summer.
Nathan Irwin, program director for WCBU-FM 89.9, Peoria's public radio outlet, traveled to Springfield with Adams to record hours of interviews with historians on the case and on Lincoln's various legal battles.
"We're preparing a half-hour documentary to run this summer - probably July," Irwin said. In addition to the WCBU effort, the station plans to air a number of other Lincoln radio programs produced by Springfield public radio station WUIS-FM, he said.
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But other historians didn't think the little-known case that came before the Illinois Supreme Court in 1841 was all that significant, said Adams, referring to reactions to a presentation he made 10 years ago.
But Adams got a different response when he spoke at a Lincoln program last year at Millikin University in Decatur. Eileen McMahon, a history professor at Lewis University in Romeoville, who also serves as editor of the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, approached Adams after his talk.
"She said that it was the only story she's heard about Lincoln that was really new. She asked me to write about it for the journal," he said.
Adams' article appeared in the journal's Lincoln bicentennial issue that was just published, detailing how Lincoln helped free an African-American girl named Nance in the David Bailey-versus-Nathan Cromwell case 25 years before the signing of the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.
The case, significant because it details how a little-known lawyer was able to record such a decisive victory in Illinois, a state not known for its liberal ideas on slavery, comes to radio this summer.
Nathan Irwin, program director for WCBU-FM 89.9, Peoria's public radio outlet, traveled to Springfield with Adams to record hours of interviews with historians on the case and on Lincoln's various legal battles.
"We're preparing a half-hour documentary to run this summer - probably July," Irwin said. In addition to the WCBU effort, the station plans to air a number of other Lincoln radio programs produced by Springfield public radio station WUIS-FM, he said.