Even before the war, Lincoln played a role in the settlement of the west. Southern interests wanted access to the west to be through the south, guaranteeing that slave-owners would be more numerous.
Northern railroad interests decided to build a railroad bridge across the Mississippi River from Illinois to Iowa at Rock Island. Jefferson Davis, as Secretary of War, tried to stop it by claiming that Rock Island was an Army installation. He issued an order saying that the bridge could not be built, but it was ignored. He sent US Marshals to stop construction, but they didn't. He sued, but lost.
Two weeks after the bridge opened, a riverboat crashed into it and burned it down. The riverboat owners (which supposedly included Davis) sued to prevent a replacement bridge; the railroad hired Lincoln to defend them, which he successfully did all the way to the Supreme Court. Newspaper coverage of Lincoln in court made him well-known to northern Republicans.
Southern riverboats going up and down the river couldn't keep up with the northern trains bringing settlers.
Northern railroad interests decided to build a railroad bridge across the Mississippi River from Illinois to Iowa at Rock Island. Jefferson Davis, as Secretary of War, tried to stop it by claiming that Rock Island was an Army installation. He issued an order saying that the bridge could not be built, but it was ignored. He sent US Marshals to stop construction, but they didn't. He sued, but lost.
Two weeks after the bridge opened, a riverboat crashed into it and burned it down. The riverboat owners (which supposedly included Davis) sued to prevent a replacement bridge; the railroad hired Lincoln to defend them, which he successfully did all the way to the Supreme Court. Newspaper coverage of Lincoln in court made him well-known to northern Republicans.
Southern riverboats going up and down the river couldn't keep up with the northern trains bringing settlers.