[86] The administration offered to appoint him secretary or governor of the Oregon Territory as consolation.[87] This distant territory was a Democratic stronghold, and acceptance of the post would have disrupted his legal and political career in Illinois, so he declined and resumed his law practice.[88]

Prairie lawyer
See also: List of cases involving Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln in 1857
In his Springfield practice, Lincoln handled "every kind of business that could come before a prairie lawyer".[89] Twice a year he appeared for 10 consecutive weeks in county seats in the Midstate county courts; this continued for 16 years.[90] Lincoln handled transportation cases in the midst of the nation's western expansion, particularly river barge conflicts under the many new railroad bridges. As a riverboat man, Lincoln initially favored those interests, but ultimately represented whoever hired him.[91] He later represented a bridge company against a riverboat company in Hurd v. Rock Island Bridge Company, a landmark case involving a canal boat that sank after hitting a bridge.[92] In 1849, he received a patent for a flotation device for the movement of boats in shallow water. 