James Speed served as U.S. attorney general from 1864 to 1866 under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. A Kentucky lawyer, law professor and politician, Speed's antislavery views before the Civil War hurt his popularity in this border state.

Speed was born on March 11, 1812 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. He graduated from St. Joseph's College in 1828 and then went to work as a clerk in the local courts. He soon enrolled in law classes at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. Though he did not earn a degree, he was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1833 and then started a law practice in Louisville. During the 1830s he developed his practice and lectured at Louisville University but Speed eventually turned to state politics. Elected to the state legislature in 1841, Speed distinguished himself from many of his colleagues by opposing slavery. Kentucky was a slave state and Speed's views were not well...