Author Talk: Raymond J. McKoski
Schedule
Wed, 08 Oct, 2025 at 07:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
1000 Monroe Dr, Bloomington, IL, United States, Illinois 61701 | Bloomington, IL
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Join us at the mansion for an evening with Raymond McKoski, author of David Davis, Abraham Lincoln's Favorite Judge!About the Book:
One of Abraham Lincoln’s staunchest and most effective allies, Judge David Davis masterminded the floor fight that gave Lincoln the presidential nomination at the 1860 Republican National Convention. This history-changing event emerged from a long friendship between the two men. It also altered the course of Davis’s career, as Lincoln named him to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1862.
Raymond J. McKoski offers a biography of Davis’s public life, his impact on the presidency and judiciary, and his personal, professional, and political relationships with Lincoln. Davis lent his vast network of connections, organizational and leadership abilities, and personal persuasiveness to help Lincoln’s political rise. When Davis became a judge, he honed an ability to hear each case with complete impartiality, a practice that endeared him to Lincoln but one day put him at odds with the president over important Civil War–era rulings. McKoski details these cases while providing an in-depth account of Davis’s role in Lincoln’s two unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. Senate and the fateful run for the presidency.
About the Author:
Raymond J. McKoski is a retired Illinois Circuit Judge and adjunct professor at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law. He is the author of Judges in Street Clothes: Acting Ethically Off-the-Bench.
Copies of McKoski's book will be available for purchase after the program in the Clover Lawn Museum shop, inside the David Davis Mansion. You can also purchase a book in advance on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/David-Davis-Abraham-Lincolns-Favorite/dp/0252046633
A short reception and book-signing will follow.
Advanced registration is REQUIRED as space is limited, and will open on September 1. Please check back for an online link for registration.
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Where is it happening?
1000 Monroe Dr, Bloomington, IL, United States, Illinois 61701Event Location & Nearby Stays:
