Law Day has Lincoln theme
Law Day, a national celebration of the rule of law, is an opportunity for bar associations around the state to explain how the legal process has contributed to individual freedoms.
Since 1968, May 1 has been the official date of Law Day, but national observance was established in 1958 by President Eisenhower.
Washington, D.C., attorney Charles S. Rhyne, president of the American Bar Association in 1957, is credited for envisioning the concept of a day of dedication to the principles of government under law.
Each year, the ABA encourages law-related organizations to join the celebration by organizing essay and poster contests, educational programs, commemorative events and award presentations.
This year’s theme, “A Legacy of Liberty: Celebrating Lincoln’s Bicentennial,” is explored in a 56-page planning guide that can be obtained by calling (800) 285-2221 or accessing www.lawday.org.
The ABA also has offered a sample letter to local newspapers that bar presidents may rewrite with information about special events in their communities. The text follows.
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This year, as we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth with Law Day 2009: A Legacy of Liberty – Celebrating Lincoln’s Bicentennial, we honor one of our nation’s greatest leaders whose dedication to the founding principles of this country successfully brought the United States through its greatest crisis.
And, 200 years later, the example set by Lincoln in his approach to the events of the Civil War and its aftermath give us a framework for how to consider problems we face today at home and abroad.
For Lincoln, the question of slavery and the sanctity of the Union were two sides of the same coin. He opposed slavery as inherently wrong and he could see that it was tearing the nation apart.
In a June 1858 speech, Lincoln said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved. I do not expect the house to fall – but I do expect that it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”
After his election, he faced not only the War Between the States but he anticipated the challenge of putting the nation back together when the war ended. He instinctively knew the “dogmas of the past are inadequate to the stormy present.”
Although detractors accused him of having no specific policies, Lincoln took a pragmatic approach to problem solving.
“The pilots on the Western rivers steer from point to point as they call it – setting the course for the boat no farther than they can see; and that is all I propose to myself in this great problem,” he told one senator when asked what he would do when the fighting stopped.
Lincoln was modest about his accomplishments, once saying, “I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.”
But like the boat pilots he referenced, Lincoln had a firm plan in mind for how the nation could pull itself together following the Civil War. He outlined his vision in his Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865:
“With malice toward none; with charity toward all; with firmness in the right … let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”
Today, as Law Day celebrates the life of Abraham Lincoln, we pay tribute to his dedication and compassion as president and throughout his legal career. Those qualities are a shining beacon in these dark and challenging times.