What Do Patrick Henry & Abraham Lincoln Have In Common?

Autodidacts Have Barely A Chance

Perhaps both men would have never become attorneys had they lived today, because of the Legal Trust. I talked about the Legal Trust in my “Bust The Legal Trust”.

I have known about Abraham Lincoln for a while. Today (5/3/2014), I learnt about Patrick Henry here:

“... Henry attended a local school for a few years and received the remainder of his formal education from his father, who had attended King’s College in Aberdeen.

At fifteen Henry began working as a clerk for a local merchant. A year later, in 1752, he and his older brother William opened their own store, which promptly failed.

At age eighteen, not yet having found his profession, Henry married sixteen-year-old Sarah Shelton, whose dowry was a 600-acre farm called Pine Slash, a house, and six slaves. Henry’s first attempt as a planter ended when fire destroyed his house in 1757. After a second attempt at storekeeping proved unsuccessful, Henry helped his father-in-law at Hanover Tavern, across the road from the county courthouse, and began reading law.

By 1760, nearing his twenty-fourth birthday, Henry decided to become a lawyer. Self-taught and barely prepared, Henry persuaded the panel of distinguished Virginia attorneys Wythe and Randolph that he had the intelligence to warrant admission to the bar. ...” (Emphasis added; source)

Absurdly High Barriers To Entry The Legal Profession

For legal disputes to be settled common sense etc. is often more important than overeducated lawyers with fancy theories and armed with trickery and legalese.