161. Makes a Success in Politics. On his return from the war, though he was only twenty-three years old, he became a candidate for the state legislature, but was defeated.
Elected to the legislature
A little later he was again a candidate. This time he won. After the election, he said to a friend: "Did you vote for me?" "I did," replied the man. "Then you must lend me two hundred dollars." Lincoln needed a suit of clothes and money to pay the expenses for traveling in a stagecoach to the capital!
LINCOLN AS A CIRCUIT RIDER
In 1837 the legislature passed a set of resolutions in favor of slavery and condemning the Abolitionists. Lincoln could not stand this. He and one other man signed a protest declaring that slavery was founded on "injustice and bad policy."
Lincoln was reëlected to the legislature seven times. He generally got more votes than other men on the ticket because the people liked his quaint sayings and his unpretending manner.
Lincoln licensed to practice law
In the meantime, after three or four years of study, he was given a license to practice law. He made it a rule never to take a case which he believed to be wrong. He was a successful lawyer, but the road to fame by way of the law was a slow one. It gave Lincoln a chance to engage in politics, as we have already seen.