Interrogated By A Predecessor - Attorney General Levi Lincoln, Sr.
Levi Lincoln, Sr. was Attorney General during the first term of Thomas Jefferson’s Administration.
Levi Lincoln, Sr
Levi Lincoln was a Harvard graduate who passed the bar after training with renown lawyer Joseph Hawley.
When the call for minutemen went out, Lincoln joined the fight during the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
More a man of books than weapons, Levi quickly left the field and established a successful practice in Worcester, Massachusetts.
He quickly began receiving public positions and by 1779 was chosen to attend the convention which drafted the State’s first constitution.
A Short Lived Victory
Lincoln spent the next two decades serving in the State Government and unsuccessfully running for US House of Representatives.
By 1801, he finally secured enough votes to become a Congressman, however, his achievement would not last long.
In March he was chosen by President Thomas Jefferson to serve as the fourth United States Attorney General.
Attorney General
Lincoln served through Jefferson’s first term, playing a role in many key decisions of the Administration.
Most notably, perhaps, was Levi’s participation in the case of Marbury v Madison.
This Supreme Court decision famously gave the courts the right of judicial review.
During the trial, Lincoln was called to take the stand.
The prosecutor, Charles Lee, was himself the former Attorney General.
This is the only time in US history that a former Attorney General questions the sitting Attorney General in a Supreme Court case.
Lieutenant Governor
After four years in the Federal Government Levi had had enough.
He returned to Massachusetts where he spent several years as Lieutenant Governor.
Though Lincoln did serve as Acting Governor for a few months when James Sullivan passed away, his attempt to secure the top job for himself failed.
Despite an offer from his old friend James Madison to sit as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Levi decided to retire due to failing health.
Do you want to learn about other Massachusetts Founders?
Check out these articles:
Completing the Capital - Charles Bulfinch Finishes Washington
Seth Pomeroy Resolves the Massachusetts Seniority Crisis
To learn more about Marbury v Madison, pick up a copy of ‘The Great Decision’.
If you’d like a copy you can get one through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).
Want to get fun American Revolution articles straight to your inbox every morning?
Subscribe to my email list here.
You can also support this site on Patreon by clicking here.
Thanks for your support!
