During a long career of public service, Edward Bates opposed the spread of slavery into new American territories and worked to build the country's growing internal transportation system. From 1861-64, he served as Abraham Lincoln's attorney general. Born in Goochland County, Virginia, in 1793, Bates grew up in a slaveholding family. His father, merchant Thomas Fleming, had difficulty providing for his five daughters and seven sons after going into debt while fighting in the American Revolution. After his father's death, Bates was tutored by his cousin Benjamin in philosophy, history, and natural science. During the War of 1812, he enlisted in the Virginia militia. After the war, he traveled to St. Louis to join his brother Frederick, a prominent judge and businessman. Admitted to the Missouri bar in 1816, Bates established a law practice with Joshua Barton and began investing in land. In 1823, he married Julia D. Colter, with whom he...