Just before the close of his term in Congress Mr. Lincoln was an
applicant for the office of Commissioner of the General Land Office, but
was unsuccessful. He had been such a factor in General Taylor’s election
that the administration thought something was due him, and after
his return to Illinois he was called to Washington and offered the
Governorship of the Territory of Oregon. It is likely he would have
accepted this had not Mrs. Lincoln put her foot down with an emphatic
no.
He declined a partnership with a well-known Chicago lawyer and returning
to his Springfield home resumed the practice of law.
From this time until the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which
opened the way for the admission of slavery into the territories, Mr.
Lincoln devoted himself more industriously than ever to the practice of
law, and during those five years he was probably a greater student than
he had ever been before. His partner, W. H. Herndon, has told of the
changes that took place in the courts and in the methods of practice
while Mr. Lincoln was away.