were members. It was an organization of aspiring young men. In 1840 Herndon began studying law at the Logan and Lincoln law practice. Although employed at Joshua Speed's store, he studied up to 14 hours per day after work. In November 1844, Herndon passed the bar examination. In 1854, ten years after beginning his partnership with Lincoln, he was elected mayor of Springfield, Illinois. Both men were members of the Whig Party. In 1856 Herndon was one of the organizers of the fledgling Republican Party after the dissolution of the Whigs. Lincoln also joined the Republican Party, hoping to "fuse" people of disparate political affiliations who wanted to end slavery. Herndon loved to learn and developed "one of the best private libraries in Springfield" including works by historians, economists, humanists, free-thinkers and philosophers. Herndon enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle well into middle age due to the successful law firm and his various elected and appointed offices. After the Civil War he suffered severe financial reversals due to bad investments, bank failures, excessive generosity to relatives and friends, and his inability to economize when his income declined sharply. By 1869, he was destitute and facing foreclosure on his home. Abraham Lincoln Partnership In the fall of 1844, Lincoln was tired of being a junior partner. He had worked for senior partners with political ambitions, and Lincoln wanted a younger partner to whom he could relate. Surprising both his wife and Herndon, in October Lincoln invited his friend to form a partnership. Lincoln appreciated Herndon's friendship, loyalty, shared political beliefs and conscientious study. Lincoln said that Herndon "was my man always above all other men on the globe." Herndon did not disappoint his friend. He contributed to the practice by performing research for his older and more experienced partner, building the firm's law library, and overseeing young men who came to study law (read the law) at their office. Politics Herndon was a much stauncher opponent of slavery than Lincoln and claimed that he helped change Lincoln's views on the subject. He felt that President Lincoln acted too slowly to bring an end to slavery. Herndon felt that the only way to rid the country of slavery was "through bloody revolution." During political campaigns Herndon made strong points that tended to alienate members of the Republican Party and swing voters. Thus, for the 1860 presidential campaign, Herndon was not involved in direct political