Fifty Years of Public Service Personal Recollections of Shelby M. Cullom, Senior United States Senator from Illinois

"Fifty Years of Public Service" by Shelby M. Cullom is a memoir where Cullom recounts his long career as a United States Senator from Illinois, starting with his family's move to Illinois and his early education. He shares how growing up with a father who opposed slavery shaped his views. He tells of his days in law school, his start as a city attorney, and how he met important people like Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, setting the foundation for his political career during a time of big changes in America.