All 4 Uses

expedient
in
Abraham Lincoln and the Self-Made Myth
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That an ambitious youth should look to the more solid citizens of his community for political guidance was natural and expedient; the men Lincoln most respected in the Indiana town of his boyhood were National Republicans, great admirers of Henry Clay; and as Dennis Hanks mournfully recalled, Lincoln himself "allways Loved Hen Clay's speaches.†
Subsection 3

expedient = convenient, speedy, or practical; or an action that is speedy or practical
His attitude was based on justice tempered by expediency—or perhaps more accurately, expediency tempered by justice.†
Subsection 4 *
His attitude was based on justice tempered by expediency—or perhaps more accurately, expediency tempered by justice.†
Subsection 4
And yet a military assault to bring relief to the fort would be a dangerous expedient.†
Subsection 5

Definitions:

(1) (expedient)
convenient and practical, but sometimes not the best or most moral choice
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
Much more rarely, expedient can also imply that an action was taken for reasons of self-interest rather than for moral reasons.

In the sense of speedy, the word is less commonly used today than in the past; though it may still be used as in "an expedient end" or "an expedient amount of time," or "We are depending upon your expediency."