author
Isaac N. Arnold
1815–1884
A Chicago lawyer, congressman, and early Lincoln biographer, this 19th-century reformer played a notable part in the fight against slavery. He is especially remembered for introducing one of the first congressional resolutions calling for a constitutional amendment to abolish it.
1 Audiobook
Sketch of the life of Abraham Lincoln
by Isaac N. Arnold
About the author
Born in Hartwick, New York, in 1815, Isaac Newton Arnold studied law, taught school for a time, and moved to Chicago in 1836, where he built his legal career. He became active in public life in Illinois and was known as a strong antislavery voice during a period of intense national conflict.
Arnold served in the U.S. House of Representatives during the Civil War era. He is widely noted for introducing an early resolution in Congress that called for a constitutional amendment to end slavery, linking his name to one of the defining moral and political struggles of the century.
After leaving Congress, he returned to Chicago and continued writing and practicing law. He also became an important early writer on Abraham Lincoln, publishing works that helped preserve Lincoln's life and legacy for later generations.