Lincoln and Adams were lawyers.
They were. There were also leaders who did things before they got into government. Adams was a teacher before he became a lawyer. Lincoln ran a store for a time, was a postmaster & county surveyor before becoming a lawyer.
Unlike the lawyers who become politicians today, Adams & Lincoln worked outside of gov’t before they ever entered into it. Gave them a perspective lawyer/politicians don’t seem to have a clue about, IMO.