· from sp eech at p eoria, octob er 1 6 1854. his declared indifference, but, as i must think,...

SELECT IONS

FROM THE WORKS OF

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

A SOUVENIR OFTHE SEVENTH ANNUALLINCOLN DINNER OFTHE REPUBLICANCLUB OF THE C ITY OF NEW-YORK , ATDELMONI

’

CO'S

,FEBRUARY 1 1, 1893 «new»

NEW-YORKCOMPILE' BY T HE COMMITTEE

1893

COMMITTEE ON LINCOLN 'INNER,

1893 .

3

CHARLES H . 'ENISON,

CHA IRMAN.

E . A . MCALPIN .

A . B . HUMPHREY .

JOSEPH ULLMAN,

T REA SURER.

HENRY MELVILLE,

SECRET ARY.

JAMES A . BLANCHAR'

OFFICERS OF THE REPUBLICAN CLUBOF THE CITY OF NEW-YORK,

FOR THE YEAR 1893.

PRESIDENT,JOHN S . SMITH .

FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT,

ARTHUR L . MERRIAM .

SECOND VICE-PRESIDENT,JAMES s. LEHMAIER.

THIRD VICE-PRESIDENT,W ILLIAM LEARY.

CORRESPOND ING SECRETARY,HENRY B . JOHNSON .

RECORD ING SECRETARY,FRANC IS E . LAIMBEER.

TREASURER ,ALFRE' B . PRICE .

LIST OF E'TRACTS

PERORATION OF ADDRESS AT COOPERINSTITUTE

,Feb . 2 7 , 1860

FAREWELL ADDRESS AT THE RAILROAD STATION, SPRINGFIELD ,Feb .

CLOSING SECTIONS OF F IRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS

,WASHINGTON

,

March 4 , 186 1

FROM MESSAGE T O CONGRESS, 'ec .

3 , 186 1 (Labor and Capital'

FROM LETTER T O THE SECRETARY OFSTATE

, June 28,1862

LETTER T O H ORACE GREELEY, Aug.

CLOSING PARAGRAPH OFMESSAGE T OCONGRESS

,'ec . 1

,1862

LETTER T O THE WORK ING-MEN OF

MANCHESTER, ENG., Jan. 19 , 1863

CLOSING PARAGRAPH OF LETTER T O

JAMES C . CONKLING, Aug. 2 6,

18 63

PAGE

LIST OF E'TRACTSPAGE

FROM LETTER T o DRAKE AN'

OTHERS,O ct. 5 , 1 863

SPEECH AT GETTYSBURG, PA .,NOV. 19

1863

SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS March

Portraits ofM r . L incoln, besid es the frontisp iece ,are inserted opposite pages 12 , 26 , 38 , 50 ,

64, 7 8 , 92 ,108 .

Lincoln’s Birthplace.

From Speech at Peoria, October 16 18 54.

H I S declared indifference,

but, as I must think, covert

zeal for the spread of slavery, I

cannot but hate . I hate it because

of the monstrous injustice of slav

ery itself. I hate it because it de

prives our republican example of

its just influence in the world 'enables the enemies of free insti

tutions with plausibi l ity to taunt

us as hypocrites ' causes the real

friends of freedom to doubt our

sincerity 'and especially because

SELECTIONS FROM THE WORKS

it forces so many really good men

among ourselves into an open war

with the very fundamental princi

ples of civil l iberty,criticiz ing the

Declaration of Independence , and

insisting that there i s no right

princ iple Of action but sel f- interest .

The doctrine of self government

i s right, — absolutely and eternally

right, but it has no just ap plica

tion as here attempted . O r per

haps I should rather say that

whether it has such just appl ication depends upon whether amegro is not , or is, a man . I f he is

not a man,in that case he who is a

man may as a matter of self-gov

OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN .

ernment do just what he pleaseswith him . But if the negro is a

man , is i t not to that extent a

total destruction Of self-govern

ment to say that he too shall not

govern h imself ? When the wh iteman governs h imself, that is self

government'but when he governs

himself and also governs another

man , that is more than self-gov

ernment— that is despotism .

What I do say i s, that no man is

good enough to govern another

man without that other’s consent.

S lavery is founded in the sel

fishness of man’s nature — oppo


S itionto it, in his love of justice .

These principles are an eternal

antagonism '‘ and when brought

into coll is ion so fiercely as Slavery

extension brings them , Shocks and

throes and convulsions must cease

lessly follow . Repeal the M issouri

Comprom i se repeal all compro

mise — repeal the Declaration Of

Independence repeal all past

history sti ll you cannot repeal

human nature .

L ittle by l ittle, but steadily as

man’s march to the grave , we have

been giving up the Old for the new

faith . Near eighty years ago we

beganby declaring that al l men


are created equal 'but nowfromthat beginn ing we have run down

to the other declaration that for

some men to enslave others is a“ Sacred right Of self-government. '

These princ iples cannot stand to

gether. They are as Opposite as

God and Mammon .

Our republican robe is so iled

and trailed in the dust. Let us re

pur ify it . Let us turn and wash it

wh ite in the spirit,if not the blood ,

of the Revolution . Let us turn

slavery from its claims of “ moral

right ' back upon its existing legal

rights, and its arguments of “ne

cessity .

' Let us return it to the


position our fathers gave it,and

there let it rest in peace . Let us

readopt the Declaration of Inde

pendence, and the practices and

policy which harmonize with it .

Let North and South let all

Americans — let all lovers of l iber

ty everywhere — j oin in the great

and good work . I fwe do th is, we

shal l not on ly have saved the

Union, but we shall have SO saved

it as to make and to keep it forever

worthy of the saving .

We shal l have SO saved it that

the succeeding mil l ions Of free,

happy people,the world over,

shall rise up and call us blessed

to the latest generations .


Argument Onthe Dred Scott Dec ision.

From Speech at Springfield,June 26

,18 5 7 .

ND now, as to the Dred

Scott decision . That de

c isiondeclares two propositionsfirst, that a negro cannot sue in

the United States courts ' and

secondly,that Congress cannot

prohibit slavery in the Territories .

I t was made by a divided court

dividing differently on the differ

ent points . Judge Douglas does

not discuss the merits Of the deci

sion , and in that respect I shall fol


low his example, believing I could

no more improve on McLeanand

Curti s than he could on Taney .

H e denounces all who question

the correctness Of that dec ision ,

as Offering violent resistance to it .

But who resists it ? Who has, in

Spite of the dec is ion,declared Dred

Scott free , and resisted the author

i ty Of h is master over him ? Judi

c ial dec isions have two uses

first, to absolutely determine the

case decided ' and secondly, to

ind icate to the public how other

S imilar cases wil l be decided whenthey arise .

For the latter use they are called

precedents and “ authorities .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join


we shall do what we can to have it

overrule this . We offer no resis

tance to it . Judicial decisions are

of greater or less authority as pre

cedents according to circumstances .

That this should be SO , accords

both with common sense and the

customary understanding Of the

legal profess ion . I f th i s important

decision had been made by the

unanimous concurrence of the

j udges, and without any apparent

partizan bias, and in accordance

with legal publ ic expectation and

with the steady practice of the

departments throughout our his

tory, and had been in no part based

on assumed historical facts wh ich


are not really true ' or, i f wanting

in some of these , i t had been before

the court more than once,and had

there been affirmed and reaffirmed

through a course of years, i t then

might be, perhaps would be, fac

tious,nay, even revolutionary, not

to acqu iesce in it as a precedent .

But when, as is true, we find it

wanting in al l these Claims to the

publ ic confidence, i t is not res is

tance , it is no t factious, i t is not

even disrespectful , to treat it as not

having yet quite established a set

tled doctrine for the country .

The Ch iefJustice does not direct

ly assert, but plainly assumes as a


fact, that the public estimate of the

black man is more favorable now

than itwas in the days Of the Revolution. This assumption is a

mistake . In some trifl ing particu

lars the condition Of that race has

been amel iorated 'but as a whole ,i n th is country, the change be

tween then and nowi s decidedlythe other way ' and their ultimate

destiny has never appeared SO

hopeless as in the last three or

four years . I n two of the five

S tates New Jersey and North

Carol ina that then gave the free

negro the right of voting, the right

has since been taken away ' and

in a third — New -York — it has


been greatly abridged ' while it

has not been extended, so far as

I know, to a S ingle additional

State, though the number Of the

States has more than doubled .

In those days, as I understand ,

masters could, at their own plea

sure, emancipate their slaves ' but

S ince then , such legal restraints

have been made upon emanc ipatiou as to amount almost to

prohibition .

In those days, legislatures held

the unquestioned power to abol ish

slavery in their respective States'but now it is becoming quite fash

ionable for State Constitutions to

withhold that power from the legi s


latures . In those days, by com

mon consent, the spread Of the

black man’s bondage to the new

countries was prohibited 'but now

Congress decides that i t will not

continue the prohibition,and the

Supreme Court decides that i t

could not if it would . In those

days our Declaration Of Indepen

dence was held Sacred by all, and

though t to include all ' but now,

to aid in making the bondage of

the negro universal and eternal ,

i t is assailed, and sneered at, and

construed,and hawked at, and torn ,

ti ll i f its framers could rise from

their graves they could not at all

recognize it .


Al l the powers Of earth seem

rapidly combining against him

Mammon is after him , ambition

fol lows,ph i losophy follows

,and

the theology of the day is fast

join ing the cry . They have him

in h i s prison house,they have

searched his person and left no pry

ing instrument with h im . One after

another they have closed the

heavy iron doors upon h im ' and

now they have h im , as it were,

bolted in with a lock of a hundred

keys, wh ich can never be un

locked without the concurrence Of

every key — the keys in the hands

of a hundred different men,and

they scattered to a hundred dif


ferent and distant places ' and

they stand musing as to what in

vention, in al l the domin ions Of

mind and matter,can be produced

to make the impossibil ity of his

escape more complete than it is .

There is a natural disgust in

the minds of nearly all white peo

ple at the idea Of an ind iscriminate

amalgamation of the white and

black races ' and Judge Douglas

evidently is basing his Chief hope

upon the chances of his being able

to appropriate the benefi t Of this

disgust to himself. I f he can , by

much drumming and repeating,

fasten the Odium Of that idea upon

his adversaries,he th inks he can


logic which concludes that because

I do not want a black woman for a

slave, I must necessarily want her

for a wife . I need not have her for

either I can just leave her alone .

In some respects she certainly is

not my equal 'but in her natural

right to eat the bread She earns

with her own hands, without ask

ing leave Of any one else, She i s my

equal and the equal of al l o thers .

Ch ief J ustice Taney, in h i s opin

ion inthe Dred Scott case, admits

that the language Of the Declara

tion is broad enough to include the

whole human family 'but he and

Judge Douglas argue that the

authors of that instrument did not


intend to include negroes by the

fact that they did not at once actu

ally place them Onan equal ity W i th

the whites . Now, this grave argu

ment comes to just nothing at al l

by the other fact that they did not

at once or ever afterward actually

place al l white people on an equal

ity with one another. And th i s is

the staple argument Of both the

Ch ief Justice and the Senator for

doing th is obvious Vlolence to the

plain , unmistakable language O f

the Declaration.

I th ink the'

authors Of that no

table instrument intended to in

elude all men ' but they did not

intend to declare all men equal in


al l respects . They d id not mean

to say all were equal in color, size,intellect, moral development

,or

social capacity . They defined

with tolerable d istinctness in what

respects they did consider allmencreated equal equal with “ cer

tain inal ienable rights, among

which are l ife, l iberty, and the

pursuit of happiness . This they

said , and this theymeant. They

did not mean to assert the Obvious

untruth that all were then actually

enjoying that equal ity, nor yet

that they were about to confer it

immediately upon them . In fact,

they had no power to confer

such a boon . They meant simply


to declare the right, so that the

enforcement of it might follow as

fast as circumstances Should per

mit . They meant to set up a

standard maxim for free society ,

wh ich Should be famil iar to all,

and revered by all ' constantly

looked to, constantly labored for,and even though never perfectly

attained, constantly approximated,

and thereby constantly spreading

and deepening its influence and

augmenting the happiness and

value of l ife to all people Of all

colors everywhere . T he asser

tion that “all men are created

equal was of no practical use in

affecting our separation from Great


Britain ' and it was placed in the

Declaration not for that,but for

future use . I ts authors meant it

to be, as, thank God , i t i s now

proving itsel f, a stumbling -block

to all those who in after times

might seek to turn a free people

back into the hateful paths Of des

potism. They knew the proneness

Of prosperi ty to breed tyrants and

they meant when such should re

appear in th i s fair land and com

mence their vocation , they should

find left for them at least one hard

nut to crack .


In my opinionit will not ceaseunti l a cris is shal l have been

reached and passed .

“ A house

d ivided against itself cannot

stand . I bel ieve this Govern

ment cannot endure permanently

half slave and half free . I do not

expect the Union to be disso lved

I do not expect the house to

fal l but I do expect it will cease

to be divided . I t will become

all one thing or al l the other .

E i ther the Opponents Of slavery

will arrest the further spread Of

i t,and p lace it where the public

mind shal l rest in the be l ief that

It 18 Incourse of ul timate extinc

tion ' or its advocates wil l push it34


forward til l it shall become alike

the States, Old

well as new, North well

South .


From Speech at Beardstown , Illinois ,August 12

,185 8 .

HESE communities,by their

representatives i n Old I n

dependence Hall , said to the whole

race of men ' “We ho ld these

truths to be self-evident ' that all

men are created equal' that they

are endowed by their Creator

with certain inal ienable rights'

that among these are l ife, l iberty ,

and the pursuit of happiness .

'

This was their majestic interpre

tation of the economy of the


universe . This was their lofty,

and wise , and noble understand

ing Of the justice Of the C reator

to h i s creatures . Yes,gentle

men , to all h i s creatures, to the

whole great family of man . In

their enl ightened belief, nothing

stamped with the divine image

and l ikeness was sent into the

world to be trodden on and de

graded, and imbruted by its fel

lows . They grasped not only the

whole race ofmanthen l iving, but

they reached forward and seized

upon the farthest posterity . They

erected a beacon to guide their

Ch i ldren , and their ch i ldren’s Chil

dren,and the countless myriads

3A 37


who should inhabit the earth in

o ther ages . W ise statesmen as

they were, they knew the ten

dency Of prosperity to breed ty

rants, and so they estab l ished

these great self-evident truths,that when in the d istant future

some man , some faction , some

interest, should set up the doc

trine that none but r ich men , none

but white men , or none but Anglo -Saxon wh ite men , were en

titled to l i fe, l iberty, and the pur

sui t Of happiness , their posterity

might look up again to the Dec

larationOf Independence and take

courage to renew the battle which

their fathers began , so that truth38


not created equal in those inalien

ab le rights enumerated by our

chart Of l iberty ' let me entreat

you to come back . Return to the

fountain whose waters spr ing

close by the blood Of the Revolu

tion Th i nk nothing of me, — take

no thought for the po l i tical fate of

any man whomsoever, - but come

back to the truths that are in

the Declaration Of Independence .

You may do anything with me

you choose , if you wil l but heed

these sacred princ iples . You may

not only defeat me for the Senate,

bu t you may take me and put me

to death . While pretending no

indifference to earthly honors, I


do claim to be actuated in th is

contest by someth ing higher than

an anxiety for office . I charge

you to drop every paltry and ln

s ignificant thought for any man’s

success . I t is nothing' I am no

thing ' Judge Douglas is nothing .

But do not destroy that immortal

emblem Of humanity the Dec

larationOf Independence .


From Speech at Edwardsville, Illinois,September 13 , 1858 .

HE difference between the

Republican and the Demo

cratic parties on the leading issues

Of th is contest,as I understand it,

IS that the former consider slavery

a moral , social , and pol itical wrong,

while the latter do not consider it

either a moral, a soc ial , or a pol itical

wrong 'and the action Of each , as

respects the growth Of the country,

and the expansion of our popula

tion , i s squared to meet these views .

44


I will not affirm that the Dem

ocratic party consider slavery

morally, social ly,and pol itically

right, though their tendency to

that view has, in my opin ion , been

constant and unmistakable for the

past five years . I prefer to take, as

the accepted maxim Of the party,the idea put forth by Judge Doug

las , that he “ don’t care whether

slavery is voted down or voted up .

'

I am quite will ing to bel ieve that

many Democratswould prefer thatslavery should be always voted

down , and I know that some prefer

that i t be always voted up but I

have a right to InsISt that their ac

tion , especially if it be their constant45


action, shal l determ ine their ideas

and preferences on this subject.

Every measure Of the Demo

cratic party of late years,bearing

d irectly or ind irectly on the slavery

question, has corresponded with

this notion Of utter ind ifference,

whether S lavery or freedom shall

outrun in the race of empire across

to the Pacific every measure, I

say, up to the Dred Scott decision ,

where,i t seems to me, the idea is

boldly suggested that slavery is bet

ter than freedom . The Republ ican

party,on the contrary, hold that

this government was instituted to

secure the bless ings of freedom,

and that slavery is an unqual ified


evil to the negro, to the white man ,

to the soil, and to the S tate . Re

garding it as an evil , they will not

molest i t in the States where it

exists ' they will not overlook the

constitutional guards which our

fathers placed around it 'they will

do nothing that can give proper

offense to those who hold slaves

by legal sanction but they will use

every constitutional method to pre

vent the evil from becoming larger

and involving more negroes, more

wh i te men , more soil , and more

S tates in its deplorable conse

quences . They will,i f possible

,

place it where the public mind Shal l

rest in the bel ief that it is in course

SELECTIONS FROM T HE WORKS

of ultimate peaceable extinction in

God’

s own good time . And to this

end they will , i f possible, restore

the government to the pol icy of the

fathers — the po l icy of preserving

the newTerritories from the baneful influence Ofhuman bondage

,as

the northwestern Territories were

sought to be preserved by the O r

d inance of 1 78 7 , and the Com

promise Act Of 18 20 . They will

Oppose, i n al l its length and

breadth,the modern “Democratic

idea,that slavery is as good as

freedom, and ought to have roomfor expansion all over the conti

nent,i f people can be found to

carry it . All,or nearly all, of48


equal ly applicable to the free

S tates as to the free Territories,

and that the pecul iar reasons put

forth by Judge Douglas for indors

ing this dec i s ion commit him,in

advance, to the next decis ion, and

to al l other decisions coming from

the same source . And when , by

all these means, you have suc

ceeded in dehumanizing the negro'

when you have put h im down and

made it imposs ible for h im to be

but as the beasts Of the field 'when

you have extinguished h i s soul in

this world and placed h im where

the ray of hope is blown out as in

the darkness Of the damned, are

you quite sure that the demon you


have roused will not turnand rend

you? What constitutes the bul

wark of our own l iberty and inde

pendence ? I t is not our frown

ing battlements, our bristling sea

coasts,our army and our navy .

These are not our rel iance

against tyranny . Al l Of those

may be turned against us with

out making us weaker for‘ the

struggle .

Our reliance is in the love Of

l iberty wh ich God has planted

in Us . Our defense i s in the spirit

wh ich prizes l iberty as the heritage

of al lmen, in all lands, everywhere .

Destroy th i s Spirit, and you have

planted the seeds Of despotism at4A 5 3

SELECTIONS FROM T H E WORKS

your own doors . Famil iarize your

selves with the Chains Of bondage,and you prepare your own l imbs to

wear them . Accustomed to tram

ple on the rights Ofothers , you have

lost the genius of your own inde

pendence, and become the fit sub

j ects of the first cunning tyrant

who rises among you . And let

me tell you, that all these th i ngs

are prepared for you by the teach

in’

gs of h istory, i f the elections shall

promise that the next Dred Scott

dec ision and all future decisions

will be quietly acquiesced inby the

people .

54


From Letter to Mr. H enry Asbury,November 19 , 18 58 .

HE fight must go on . The

cause Of Civi l l iberty must

not be surrendered at the end of

one, or even one hundred ,defeats .


From Letter to Pierce and others,

April 6,1859 .

UT, soberly, It IS now no

child’s play to save the

princ iples Of J efferson from total

overthrow in this nation . One

would state with great confidence

that he could convince any sane

child that the simpler propos itions

of Euclid are true 'but neverthe

l ess he would fail , utterly, with

one who should deny the defini

tions and axioms . The principles

of Jefferson are the definitions and


and sappers of returning despot

ism . We must repulse them, or

they will subjugate us . This is

a world Of compensation' and he

who would be no slave must con

sent to have no slave . Those

who deny freedom to others de

serve it not for themselves,and

,

under a just God, cannot long

retain it .

Al l honor to J efferson to the

man who,i n the concrete pressure

of a struggle for national inde

pendence by a single people, had

the coolness, forecast, and capacity

to introduce into a merely revo

lutionary document an abstract

truth , applicable to all men and5 8


all times,and SO to embalm it

there that tod ay and in all coming

days it shall be a rebuke and a

stumbling -block to the very har

bingers Of reappearing tyranny

oppression.


Peroration Of Address at Cooper Institute,

February 2 7 , 18 60 .

RONG as we think slavery

is , we can yet afford to let

it alone where it is, because that

much is due to the necessity aris

ing from its actual presence in the

nation ' but can we, wh i l e our

votes wil l prevent it, allow it to

spread into the National Terri

tories , and to overrun us here in

the Free S tates ? I f our sense

of duty forbids th is, then let us

stand by our duty, fearlessly and


effectively . Let us be diverted by

none Of those sophistical contri

vances wherewith we are so in

dustriously plied and belabored,contrivances such as groping for

some middle ground between the

righ t and the wrong,vain as the

search for a man who Should be

neither a l iving man nor a dead

man ' such as a policy of “ don’t

care ' on a question aboutwh ichall true men do care ' such as

Union appeals beseech ing true

Union men to yiel d to Disunion

ists, reversing’

the divine rule,and

call ing, not the S inners, but the

righteous to repentance ' such as

invocations to Wash ington, im

SELECTIONS FROM T HE WORKS

ploring men to unsay what Wash

ing tonsaid, and undo whatWash

ingtondid .

Neither let us be Slandered

from our duty by false accusations

against us, nor frightened from it

by menaces Of destruction to the

Government nor Of dungeons to

ourselves . Let us have faith that

right makes might, and in that

faith let us , to the end, dare to do

our duty as we unders tand it.


Farewell Address at the Railro ad Station,Springfield

,February 1 1

,1 86 1 .

Y FR IENDS 'NO one not

in my situation can appre

c iate my feel ing of sadness at this

parting . T O th is place and the

kindness of these people I owe

everything. Here I have l ived

a quarter of a century, and have

passed from a young to an Old

man . Here my ch i ldren have

been born , and one is buried . I

now leave, not knowing when or

whether ever I may return,with


a task before me greater than that

wh ich rested upon Wash ington .

W i thout the assistance Of that

D ivine Being who ever attended

h im , I cannot succeed . W ith that

assistance I cannot fail . Trusting

in H im , who can go withme, andremain with you , and be every

where for good, let us confidently

hope that all will yet be well .

T O H i s care commending you , as

I hope in your prayers you will

commend me, I bid you an affec

tionate farewell .


Closing Sections Of First Inaugural Address,Wash ington

,March 4 , 186 1 .

HYS ICALLY speaking,we

cannot separate . We can

not remove our respective sections

from each other,nor build an im

passable wall between them . A

husband and wife may be divorced,

and go out of the presence and

beyond the reach Of each other'but the different parts of our

country cannot do th is . They

cannot but remain face to face '

and intercourse,either amicable


or hostile , must continue between

them . IS i t impossible,then, to

make that intercourse more ad

vantageous or more satisfactory

after separation than éefom8 Canaliens make treaties easier than

friends can make laws ? Can

treaties be more faithful ly en

forced between al ien s than laws

can among fr iends ? Suppose you

go to war, you cannot fight al

ways' and when , after much loss

on both sides, and no gain on

either, you cease fighting, the

identical Old questions as to terms

of intercourse are again i onyou .

This country,with its institu

tions, belongs to the people who68


inhabit i t . Whenever they Shall

grow weary Of the existing Gov

ernment, they can exercise theirright of amending

it,or their revolutz

'

ona zy right to

dismember or overthrow it . I

cannot be ignorant Of the fact

that many worthy and patr iotic

citizens are desirous of having the

National Constitution amended .

While I make no recommendation

Of amendments, I fu lly recognizethe rightful authority Of the peo

ple over the whole subject, to be

exercised in either Of the modes

prescribed in the instrument it

self' and I should, under existing

c ircumstances, favor rather than5A 69


Oppose a fair opportunity being

afforded the peop le to act upon

it. I will venture to add,that to

me the convention mode seems

preferab le , i n that it al lows amend

ments to originate with the people

themselves, i nstead of only per

mitting them to take or rej ect

propositions originated by others

not espec ially chosen for the pur

pose, and which might not be pre

cisely such as they would W ish

to either accept or refuse . I un

derstand a proposed amendment to the Constitution which

amendment,however, I have

‘

not

seen has passed Congress, to

the effect that the Federal Gov


ernment shall never interfere withthe domestic institutions of the

States,including that of persons

held to service . To avoid mis

construction Of What I have said ,

I depart from my purpose not to

speak of particular amendments

SO far as to say that, holding such

a provision now to be impl ied con

stitutional law , I have no Objec

tion to its being made express

and irrevocable .

The Chief Magistrate derives

all his authority from the people,and they have conferred none

upon h im to fix terms for the

separation Of the S tates . The

people themselves can do this


also if they choose'but the Ex

ecutive, as such , has noth ing to

do with it. H is duty is to admin

ister the present Government as

i t came to his hands, and to trans

mit it, unimpaired by him , to his

successor.

Why should there not be a

patient confidence in the u ltimate

justice Of the people ? I s there

any better or equal hope in the

world ? I n our present differ

ences, i s either party without faith

Of being in the r ight ? I f the Al

mighty Ruler Of Nations, with his

eternal truth and justice , be on

your S ide of the North, or on

yours Of the South, that truth and


th ink calmly and wel l upon th is

whole subject . Nothing valuable

can be lost by taking time . I f

there be an Object to h armanyof you in hot haste to a step

which you woul d never take d’e

Zz'

bemz‘ely , that object will be frus

trated by taking time, but no

good Object can be frustrated by

it . Such of you,as are now dis

satisfied sti l l have the Old Consti

tution unimpaired,and, on the

sensitive point, the laws Of your

own framing under it 'while the

new Admini stration will have no

immediate power, i f it would, to

change either . I f it were ad

mitted that you who are d issat74


isfied hold the right S ide in the

dispute, there stil l is no single

good reason for precip itate action .

Intell igence, patriotism , Christian

ity , and a firm rel iance on H im

who has never yet forsaken th is

favored land , are still competent

to adjust, in the best way, all our

present difficulty .

In your hands, my d issatisfied

fellow- countrymen , and not in

mine, i s the momentous issue Of

civil war. The Government wil l

not assail you .

You can have no confl ict without

being yourselves the aggressors .

You have no oath reg istered in

heaven to destroy the Govern7 5


ment 'while' shall have the most

solemn one to “ preserve , protect

and defend ' i t.

I am loath to close . We are not

enemies, but friends . We must not

be enemies . Though passionmayhave strained, i t must not break

our bonds of affection .

The mystic chord Ofmemory,stretching from every battle-field

and patriot grave to every l iving

heart and hearthstone all over this

broad land,wil l yet swell the cho

rus Of the Un ion, when again

touched, as sure ly they wil l be,by the better angels Of our nature .


Labor and Cap i tal . From Message toCongress

,December 3 , 186 1 .

OW, there is no such rela

tion between capital and

labor as assumed ' nor is there

any such thing as a free man

being fixed for l ife in the condi

tion of a hired laborer . Both

these assumptions are false, and

all inferences from them are

groundless .

Labor i s prior to, and indepen

dent Of, capital . Capital is only

the fruit Of labor, and could never7 7


have existed if labor had not first

existed . Labor is the superior

of capital , and deserves much the

higher consideration . Capital

has its rights, which are as worthy

Of protection as any other rights .

Nor is i t den ied that there is, and

probab ly always will be, a relation

between labor and capital produc

i ng mutual benefits . The error

is in assuming that the whole

labor of community exists with i n

that relation . A few men own

capital, and those few avoid labor

themselves, and , with their capital,

hire or buy another few to labor

for them . A large majority be

long to neither class neither78


labor with their own hands, and

also buy or hire others to labor

for them 'but this is only a mixed,

and not a d isti nct c lass . NO pr in

c iple stated is d isturbed by the

existence of this mixed c lass .

Again, as has already been

said , there is not of necessi ty any

such thing as the free h ired la

borer being fixed to that condition

for life . Many independent men

everywhere in these S tates, a fewyears back in their l ives, were

hired laborers . The 'prudent,

penniless beginner in the world

labors for wages a whi le , saves a

surplus with which to buy tools or

land for h imself,then labors on his82


own account another wh ile, and

at l ength hires another new be

ginner to help h im . Th i s i s the

just,and generous, and prosper

ous system,which opens the way

to all , gives hope to al l , and con

sequent energy, and progress , and

improvement of condition to all .

No men l iving are more worthy

to be trusted than those who toil

up from poverty none less in

clined to take or touch aught

which they have not honestly

earned . Let them beware of sur

rendering a political power wh ich

they already possess,and wh ich ,

i f surrendered, will surely be used

to close the door Of advancement


against such as they, and to fix

new disab il ities and burdens upon

them,til l all Of l iberty shall

lost .

84


From Letter to the Secretary Of State,June 28

,1862 .

E'PECT to maintain this

contest until successful,or

ti ll I die, or am conquered, or my

term expires, ,01

‘ Congress or the

country fforsakes me .

8 5


Letter to H orace Greeley,August 2 2

,1862 .

EAR S IR ' I have just

read yours Of the i 9th ,

addressed to myself through the

NeW -York Tm’ézme.

I f there b e in i t any statements

or assumptions of fact which I may

know to be erroneous, I do not,

now and here, controvert them .

I f there be in it any inferences

wh ich I may believe to be falsely

drawn, I do not, now and here,

argue against them .

86


I f there be perceptible in i t an

impatient and dictatorial tone, I

waive it in deference to an Old

friend,whose heart I have always

supposed to be right .

As to the pol icy I “ seem to be

pursuing, as you say , I have not

meant to leave any one in doubt.

I would save the Union . I would

save it in the shortest W ay under

the Constitution .

The sooner the national author

ity can be restored, the nearer the

Union will be the Union as itwas .

I f there be those whowould notsave the Union unless they could

at the same time save slavery, I

do not agree with them .

87


I f there be those who wou ld not

save the Unionunless they could

at the same time destroy slavery,I do not agree with them .

My paramount Obj ect in this

struggle is to save the Union,and

i s not either to save or destroy

slavery .

If I could save the Union with

out freeing any slave, I wou ld do

it' and if I could save it by free

ing al l the slaves,I would do it '

and if I cou ld save it by freeing

some and leaving others alone, I

would also do that.

What I do about slavery and the

colored race, I do because I be

l ieve it helps to save the Union'83


Closing Paragraph OfMessage to Congress,December 1 , 1862 .

ELLOW — C IT I Z ENS , we

cannot escape history .

We of this Congress and th i s

Admin istration will be remem

bered in spite Of ourselves . NO

personal s ignificance or insignifi

cance can spare one or another

of us . The fiery trial through

wh ich we pass will l ight us down

in honor or d ishonor to the latest

generation . We say that we are

for the Union . The world will


not forget that we say this . We

know how to save the Union .

The world knows we do know

how to save it. VVe — even we

here — hold the power and bear

the responsibil i ty . In giving free

dom to the s lave, We assure

freedom to the free , honorable

al ike in what we g ive and what

we preserve . We Shall nobly

save or meanly lose the last best

hope Of earth . O ther means may

succeed ' th is could not,cannot

fail . The way is plain , peaceful,generous, just, a way which

,i f

followed, the world will forever

applaud, and God must forever

bless .


Letter to the Working-menOf Manchester,

England, January 19, 1863 .

HAVE the honor to ac

knowledge the receipt of

the address and resolutions which

you sentme on the eve Of the newyear. When I came on the 4th

of March, 186 1, through a free and

constitutional election , to preside

in the Government Of the United

States , the country was found at

the verge Of c ivi l war . Whatever

might have been the cause, or

whosesoever the fau lt, one duty

paramount to al l others was be


fore me,namely, to maintain and

preserve at once the Constitution

and the integrity Of the Federal

Republ ic . A conscientious pur

pose to perform th i s duty is the

key to all the measures of ad

ministration wh ich have been , and

to all wh ich will hereafter be, pur

sued . Under Our frame Of gov

ernment and my official oath , I

could not depart from th is purpose

if I would . I t is not always in the

power of governments to enlargeor restrict the scope Of moral re

sults wh i ch follow the pol icies that

they may deem it necessary, for

the public safety,from time to

time to adopt .95


I have understood well that the

duty of self-preservation rests sole

ly with the American peop le . But

I have at the same time been aware

that favor or disfavor of foreign

nations m ight have a material in

fluence i n enlarg ing or prolonging

the struggle with d i sloyal men in

which the country is engaged .

A fair examination of h i story has

served to authorize a bel ief that

the past actions and influences Of

the United S tates were generally

regarded as having been benefic ial

toward mankind . I have, there

fore,reckoned upon the forbear

ance Of nations C ircumstances- to some of which you kindly


of Manchester, and in all Eu

rope, are called to endure in this

cris is . I t has been Often and

studiously represented that the at

tempt to overthrow th is Govern

ment, which was buil t upon the

foundation Of human rights, and to

substitute for i t one wh ich should

rest exclusively on the basis of

human slavery, was l ikely to obtain

the favor of Europe . Through the

action of our disloyal citizens, the

working-men Of Europe have been

subjected to severe trials, for the

purpose Of forcing the ir sanction

to that attempt . Under the c ir

cumstances, I cannot but regardyour decisive utterances upon the


question as an instance Of subl ime

Christian heroism,which has not

been surpassed in any age or in

any country . I t i s i ndeed an en

ergetic and reinspiring assurance

of the inherent power Of truth, and

of the ultimate and universal tri

umph Of justice,humanity , and

freedom . I do not doubt that the

sentiments you have expressed

wil l be sustained by your great

nation , and, on the other hand, I

have no hesitation in assuring you

that they will excite admiration ,esteem, and the most reciprocal

feel ings Of friendship among the

American people . I hail th is in

terchange Of sentiment, therefore,99


as an augury that whatever else

may happen ,whatever misfortunemay befal l your country or my

own , the peace and friendship

which now exist between the two

nations will be, as i t shal l be my

desire to make them , perpetual .


can remember that with silent

tongue, and clenched teeth, and

steady eye, and well -poised bayo

net, they have helped mankind on

to this great consummation while

I fear there will be some white

ones unable to forget that with ma

l ignant heart and deceitfu l speech

they strove to h inder it .

Sti ll,let us not be over-Sanguine

of a speedy final triumph . Let us

be quite sober. Let us dil igently

apply the means, never doubting

that a just God, in his own good

time, will give us the rightful result .


From Letter to Drake and others,October 5 , 1863 .

MONG the reasons given

enough of suffering and

wrong to Union men is certainly,

and I suppose truly, stated . Yet

the whole case, as presented , fails

to convince me that General Scho

field , or the enrolled mil itia, i s

responsible for that suffering and

wrong . The whole can be ex

plained on a more charitable and,as I think, a more rational hy

pothesis . We are in C ivil War.

In such cases there always is a


main question ' but in th is case

that question is a perplexing com

pound Union and S lavery . I t

thus becomes a question not of

two S ides merely, but at least four

sides, even among those who are

for the Union , saying nothing of

those who are against it.

Thus,those who are for the

Unionmi lk ,but notwi lfioa i , Slav

ery — those for it but not

wi le— those for itmi lk ormi lkoa l, but prefer itmi lk and tho se

for i twi t'z orwi lfioa z‘, but prefer itwz’lfioa z‘. Among these again is a

subdivision of those who are for

g radual, but not for immea’iale,and those who are for immed iate,


neighbor, lest he be first killed by

him . Revenge and retaliation fo l

low . And all this, as before said,may be among honest men only .

But this is not all . Every foul bird

comes abroad, and every dirty

reptile rises up . These add crime

to confusion . Strong measure s

deemed indispensable , but harsh at

best, such men makeworse by maladm in istration . Murders for Old

grudges, and murders for pelf,

proceed under any cloak that wi ll

best cover for the occasion . These

causes amply account for what has

occurred in M issouri, without as

cribing it to the weakness or

wickedness of any general .


Speech at Gettysburg,Pennsylvania,

November 19, 1863 .

OURSCORE and seven

years ago our fathers

brought forth on this continent

a new nation , conceived in liberty,and dedicated to the proposition

that all men are created equal . NOW

we are engaged in a great civi l

war, testing whether that nation ,or any nation so conceived and so

dedicated , can long endure . We

are met on a great battle-field Of

that war. We have come to dedi


cate a portion of that field as a

final resting-place for those who

here gave their l ives that that na

tion might l ive . I t is altogether

fitting and proper that we should

do th i s . But, in a larger sense,

we cannot dedicate — we cannot

consecrate we cannot hallow

this ground . The brave men , l iv

ing and dead , who struggled here,

have consecrated it, far above our

poor power to add or detract .

The world will l ittle note, nor long

remember, what we say here, but

it can never forget what they did

here . I t is for us, the l iving, rather,

to be dedicated here to the unfin

ished work which they who fought


here have thus far so nobly ad

vanced . I t is rather for us to be

here ded icated to the great task

remaining before us that from

these honored dead we take in

creased devotion to that cause for

wh ich they gave the last full mea

sure Of devotion — that we here

h ighly resolve that these dead shall

not have died in vain that th is

nation , under God, Shall have a

new birth Of freedom — and that

government of the people, by the

people, and for the people shal l

not per ish from the earth .


Second Inaugural Address,March 4 , 1865 .

EL LOW - C O U NT RY

MEN At this second ap

pearing to take the oath of the Pres

idential Office, there is less occasion

for an extended address than there

was at the first . Then, a statement,somewhat in detail , of a course to

be pursued seemed fitting and

proper. NOW , at the expiration Of

four years,during which publ ic

declarations have been constantly

called forth on every point and

phase Of the great contest which


l ivered from this place,devoted

altogether to saving the Union

W ithout war, insurgent agents were

in the c i ty seeking to destroy it

without war — seeking to dissolve

the Union , and divide effects, by

negotiation . Both parties depre

cated war 'but one Of them would

make war rather than let the na

tion survive ' and the other would

accept war rather than let i t perish .

And the war came .

One eigh th Of the whole pOpula

tion were colored slaves, not dis

tr ibuted generally over the Union ,

but local ized in the Southern part

Of i t . These slaves constituted

a pecul iar and powerful interest .


Al l knew that th is interest was,

somehow, the cause Of the war .

To strengthen, perpetuate, and ex

tend th is interest was the Obj ect

for wh ich the insurgents would rend

the Union even by war 'while the

Government claimed no right to

do more than to restrict the terri

torial enlargement of it.

Nei ther party expected for the

war the magnitude or the duration

wh ich it has already attained .

Neither antic ipated that the cause

of the confl ict might cease with,

or even before, the confl ict i tself

should cease . Each looked for an

easier triumph , and a result less

fundamental and astounding.


Both read the same B ible, and

pray to the same God ' and each

invokes his aid against the other .

I t may seem strange that any men

should dare to ask a j ust God’s

ass i stance in wringing their“

bread

from the sweat ofother men ’s faces'

but let us judge not, that we be not

j udged . The prayers of both could

not be answered — that of neither

has been answered fully . The

Almighty has his own purposes .

“Woe unto the world because Of

offenses 'for it must needs be that

offenses come ' but woe to that

man by whom the Offense cometh .

Ifwe shal l suppose that Amer icanslavery is one of those Offenses,

to il Shal l be sunk, and unti l every

drop of blood drawn with the lash

shal l be paid by another drawn

with the sword , aswas said threethousand years ago, SO , stil l i t

must be said, “ The judgments of

the Lord are true and righteous

altogether.

'

W i th mal ice toward none 'with

charity for all with firmness in the

r ight, as God gives us to see the

right, l et us strive on to finish the

work we are in 'to bind up the na

tion ’s wounds 'to care for him who

shal l have borne the battle, and for

his widow, and his orphans — to do

al l which may achieve and cherish

a just and a lasting peace among

ourselves and with all nations .

· from sp eech at p eoria, octob er 1 6 1854. his declared indifference, but, as i must think,...

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