Joshua Claybourn

Joshua Claybourn
Born (1981-06-10) June 10, 1981 (age 43)
Evansville, Indiana, U.S.
EducationIndiana University (BS, JD)
Occupation(s)Lawyer, historian
Board member ofAbraham Lincoln Association, Abraham Lincoln Institute
Websitejoshuaclaybourn.com

Joshua Claybourn (born June 10, 1981) is an American attorney, author, and historian considered one of the foremost living scholars on Abraham Lincoln’s youth in Indiana.[1]

Career

Claybourn is an attorney with the law firm of Jackson Kelly, representing governmental entities and officials, as well as businesses and corporations.[2] Citing Article 1, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, Claybourn appeared before the Indiana Election Commission and successfully challenged a 23-year-old person's legal right to appear on the ballot as a candidate for Congress in Indiana's 8th congressional district.[3][4] Together with Abby DeMare, he argued in the Indiana Law Review for greater checks and balances on executive branch emergency powers.[5] Claybourn served as co-counsel in a civil suit against the State of Indiana and Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, alleging that Governor Holcomb exceeded his authority under the Constitution of Indiana when he issued certain executive orders in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. Citing Governor Holcomb's rescission of the subject executive orders, the trial court dismissed the complaint as moot and the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed.[6][7][8]

Historian and pundit

Claybourn is considered one of the foremost living scholars of President Lincoln’s youth in Indiana.[1] He appeared as an expert in the six-part CNN documentary Lincoln: Divided We Stand.[9] Claybourn is editor of Abraham Lincoln's Wilderness Years, a compilation of significant scholarship from J. Edward Murr covering Lincoln's youth.[10] He is co-editor (with William Bartelt) of Abe’s Youth: Shaping the Future President, providing source material from the Indiana Lincoln Inquiry.[11][12] Claybourn also served as a research assistant to Professor Gerard Magliocca during his work on Andrew Jackson and the Constitution: The Rise and Fall of Generational Regimes.[13]

Claybourn edited Our American Story: The Search for a Shared National Narrative (Potomac Books, 2019), a collection of essays by theorists, historians, and politicians addressing the possibility of a shared narrative within a country divided by political polarization.[14][15] Contributors to the project include Cass Sunstein, Gordon S. Wood, John Danforth, Richard Epstein, David Blight, Markos Moulitsas, Alan Taylor, Eleanor Clift, Jim Banks, Nikolas Gvosdev, Ilya Somin, Cherie Harder, Gerard Magliocca, Jason Kuznicki, Cody Delistraty, Spencer Boyer, Ali Wyne, and James Wertsch.[14] Kirkus Reviews wrote that the book's "responses are all over the map, provocatively so" and called it a "mixed-bag collection".[16]

Politics

Claybourn, named one of the 250 most influential leaders in Indiana, often serves as a political advisor.[17] He was cited as a "key supporter" of Congressman Larry Bucshon of Indiana's 8th congressional district and was a principal adviser to Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke's campaign and was a part of Winnecke's 2012 transition team.[3][18]

In 2016, Claybourn was selected as an Indiana delegate to the 2016 Republican National Convention, but a day after Donald Trump's win in the Indiana primary which made Trump the party's presumptive nominee, Claybourn resigned his position.[19][20][21][22]

Publications

  • Claybourn, Joshua A., ed. Abraham Lincoln's Wilderness Years: Collected Works of J. Edward Murr. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2023.
  • Claybourn, Joshua A., ed. Our American Story: The Search for a Shared National Narrative. Lincoln: Potomac Books, 2019.
  • Bartelt, William, and Joshua A. Claybourn, eds. Abe’s Youth: Shaping the Future President. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2019.
  • Claybourn, Joshua A., ed. Born of Clay: The Story of the Claiborne · Claybourn · Clayborn Families in the United States. Evansville: Claybourn Genealogical Society, 2016.

References

  1. ^ a b Rethlake, Bill (August 16, 2022). "Lincoln scholar to speak Saturday". Greensburg Daily News. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  2. ^ Hall, Shannon (January 5, 2016). "Chandler appoints new attorney". Courier & Press. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Langhorne, Thomas (February 18, 2016). "Bucshon supporter challenges 23-year-old woman's right to run for 8th District". Courier & Press. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  4. ^ Osowski, Zach (February 19, 2016). "Tied commission vote will keep Young on U.S. Senate ballot". Courier & Press. Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  5. ^ Joshua Claybourn; Abby DeMare (January 14, 2022). "Hoosier Emergency Powers: Restoring Checks and Balances". Indiana Law Review. 54 (2): 341–364. doi:10.18060/26023. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  6. ^ Shelley, Jonathan (October 26, 2021). "Mask Lawsuit Filed by Bluffton BBQ Owners Dismissed". Inside Indiana Business. IBJ Media. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  7. ^ Carden, Dan (December 7, 2022). "Indiana Supreme Court won't hear challenge to governor's COVID-19 business restrictions". NWI. The Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "Judge dismisses Yergy's lawsuit against county, state officials". WANE. October 26, 2021. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  9. ^ Webb, Jon (January 25, 2021). "Evansville attorney Josh Claybourn will appear in CNN series about Abraham Lincoln". Courier & Press. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  10. ^ J. Edward Murr (January 2023). Claybourn, Joshua (ed.). Abraham Lincoln's Wilderness Years: Collected Works of J. Edward Murr. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253062703. Archived from the original on September 22, 2024. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  11. ^ Bartelt, William; Claybourn, Joshua, eds. (October 2019). Abe's Youth: Shaping the Future President. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253043924. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  12. ^ Erekson, Keith (June 2020). "Abe's Youth: Shaping the Future President". Indiana Magazine of History. 116 (2): 153. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  13. ^ Magliocca, Gerard (October 27, 2008). Andrew Jackson and the Constitution: The Rise and Fall of Generational Regimes. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. p. 186. ISBN 9780700615094. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Claybourn, Joshua, ed. (June 2019). Our American Story: The Search for a Shared National Narrative. Potomac Books. p. 228. ISBN 9781640121706. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  15. ^ Claybourn, Joshua (June 3, 2019). "In Search of a Shared National Narrative". Reason. Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  16. ^ "Our American Story". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  17. ^ "Indiana 250". Indiana 250. Indianapolis Business Journal. Archived from the original on August 25, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  18. ^ Sarkissian, Arek (December 2, 2011). "Winnecke: Transition team has received 220 resumes for 37 positions". Courier & Press. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  19. ^ Webb, Jon (May 5, 2016). "City Council attorney, GOP delegate Claybourn refuses to attend convention after Trump win". Courier & Press. Archived from the original on September 25, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  20. ^ Cook, Tony (April 14, 2016). "Indiana GOP names delegates to Republican National Convention". Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  21. ^ Peters, Jeremy (June 1, 2016). "'I Can Watch It on TV': Excuses for Republicans Skipping a Donald Trump Convention". New York Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  22. ^ Kopan, Tal (May 12, 2016). "With Trump as nominee, delegate spots lose appeal for Republicans". CNN. Archived from the original on July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.