In 1959, In Lawrencebuhg; tenn., Fred Thompson and Sarah Lindsey had a problem. He was 16: a strapping athlete, not much of a student, son of a devout but uneducated used-car salesman. She was 17, from the most prominent political family in town, headed for college in Nashville. She was also pregnant. They talked of eloping, but then the Lindsey council of elders met. They ruled, reluctantly, that Sarah could marry—and Fred plunged into proving that the Lindsey clan hadn't made a mistake. Sarah tutored him in 12th grade, and then he gained momentum: fine grades at Memphis State, a scholarship to Vander-bilt Law, moot court. In only eight years he was back home, father of three, practicing law in the Lindsey firm.
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