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Abraham Lincoln

462 quotes

“Abraham Lincoln his hand and pen he will be good but God knows When”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1824 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Manuscript poem, as a teenager (ca. 1824–1826), in "Lincoln as Poet" at Library of Congress : Presidents as Poets also in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (1953) edited by Roy. P. Basler, Vol. 1
“Abraham Lincoln is my name And with my pen I wrote the same I wrote in both hast and speed and left it here for fools to read”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1824 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Manuscript poem, as a teenager (ca. 1824–1826), in "Lincoln as Poet" at Library of Congress : Presidents as Poets, as published in The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (1953) edited by Roy. P. Basler, Vol. 1
“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1838 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: First attributed to Lincoln in 2002, this seems a paraphrase of a statement in the Lyceum address of 1838, while incorporating language used by Thomas E. Dewey (c. 1944), who said "By the same token labor unions can nev…
Also quoted by: Abraham Lincoln (misattributed)
“Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say, for one, that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow-men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1832 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address Delivered in Candidacy for the State Legislature (9 March 1832)
“These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert to fleece the people, and now that they have got into a quarrel with themselves, we are called upon to appropriate the people's money to settle the quarrel.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1837 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to Illinois legislature (January 1837); This is "Lincoln's First Reported Speech", found in the Sangamo Journal (28 January 1837) according to McClure's Magazine (March 1896); also in Lincoln's Complete Works (19…
“I am mighty near one.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1837 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: When asked if he was an abolitionist (1837)
“Whatever Spiteful fools may Say — Each jealous, ranting yelper — No woman ever played the whore Unless She had a man to help her.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1837 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A stanza of Lincoln's "On Seduction" (1837-39) as conveyed by James H. Matheny (1865 or 1866)
“I have now come to the conclusion never again to think of marrying, and for this reason; I can never be satisfied with anyone who would be blockhead enough to have me.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1838 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Mrs. Orville H. Browning (1 April 1838), Collected Works, vol. 1. p. 119
“Resolutions upon the subject of domestic slavery having passed both branches of the General Assembly at its present session, the undersigned hereby protest against the passage of the same.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They believe that the institution of slavery is founded on both injustice and bad policy, but that the promulgation of Abolition doctrines tends rather to increase than abate its evils.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They believe that the Congress of the United States has no power under the Constitution to interfere with the institution of slavery in the different States.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I hope I am over wary; but if I am not, there is, even now, something of ill-omen, amongst us. I mean the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country; the growing disposition to substitute the wild and furious passions, in lieu of the sober judgment of Courts; and the worse than savage mobs, for the executive ministers of justice. This disposition is awfully fearful in any and that it now exists in ours, though grating to our feelings to admit, it would be a violation of truth and an insult to our intelligence to deny.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law. In any case that arises, as for instance, the promulgation of abolitionism, one of two positions is necessarily true; that is, the thing is right within itself, and therefore deserves the protection of all law and all good citizens; or, it is wrong, and therefore proper to be prohibited by legal enactments; and in neither case, is the interposition of mob law, either necessary, justifiable, or excusable.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We hope all danger may be overcome; but to conclude that no danger may ever arise would itself be extremely dangerous.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That our government should have been maintained in its original form from its establishment until now, is not much to be wondered at. It had many props to support it through that period, which now are decayed, and crumbled away. Through that period, it was felt by all, to be an undecided experiment; now, it is understood to be a successful one.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1841 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to John T. Stuart (23 January 1841), Collected Works 1:229-30
“... none seemed to think the injury arose from the use of a bad thing, but from the abuse of a very good thing.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1842 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address to the Springfield Washingtonian Temperance Society (22 February 1842). Frequently misquoted as "It has long been recognized that the problems with alcohol relate not to the use of a bad thing, but to the abuse …
“I believe, if we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class. There seems ever to have been a proneness in the brilliant and warm-blooded to fall into this vice.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1842 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address to the Springfield Washingtonian Temperance Society (22 February 1842), quoted at greater length in John Carroll Power (1889) Abraham Lincoln: His Life, Public Services, Death and Funeral Cortege
“Believing that these propositions, and the [conclusions] I draw from them can not be successfully controverted, I, for the present, assume their correctness, and proceed to try to show, that the abandonment of the protective policy by the American Government, must result in the increase of both useless labour, and idleness; and so, in pro[por]tion, must produce want and ruin among our people.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1846 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Fragments of a Tariff Discussion", Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. 1, p. 415; according to the source Lincoln's "scraps about protection were written by Lincoln, between his election to Congress in 1846, and ta…
“It has so happened in all ages of the world, that some have laboured, and others have, without labour, enjoyed a large proportion of the fruits. This is wrong, and should not continue. To each labourer the whole product of his labour, or as nearly as possible, is a most worthy object of any good government.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1847 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume I, "Fragments of a Tariff Discussion" (1 December 1847)
“I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood; and the accidental truth of the assertion, does not justify or excuse him.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1846 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Allen N. Ford (11 August 1846), reported in Roy Prentice Basler, ed., Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings (1990 [1946])
“Any people anywhere being inclined and having the power have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable, a most sacred right — a right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world. Nor is this right confined to cases in which the whole people of an existing government may choose to exercise it. Any portion of such people that can may revolutionize and make their own of so much of the territory as they inhabit.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1848 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the United States House of Representatives (12 January 1848)
“Military glory, — that attractive rainbow that rises in showers of blood.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1848 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the United States House of Representatives opposing the Mexican war (12 January 1848)
“In law it is a good policy never to plead what you need not, lest you oblige yourself to prove what you cannot.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1848 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to former Illinois Attorney General Usher F. Linder (20 February 1848)
“The true rule, in determining to embrace, or reject any thing, is not whether it have any evil in it; but whether it have more of evil, than of good. There are few things wholly evil, or wholly good. Almost every thing, especially of governmental policy, is an inseparable compound of the two; so that our best judgment of the preponderance between them is continually demanded.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1848 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Representatives (20 June 1848)
“Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1848 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in the House of Representatives (20 June 1848)
“The way for a young man to rise, is to improve himself every way he can, never suspecting that any body wishes to hinder him.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1848 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to William H Herndon (10 July 1848)
“The better part of one's life consists of his friendships.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1849 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Joseph Gillespie (13 July 1849)
“My childhood's home I see again, And sadden with the view; And still, as memory crowds my brain, There's pleasure in it too.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As leaving some grand waterfall, We, lingering, list its roar — So memory will hallow all We've known, but know no more.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I range the fields with pensive tread, And pace the hollow rooms; And feel (companion of the dead) I'm living in the tombs.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But here's an object more of dread Than ought the grave contains — A human form with reason fled, While wretched life remains.Poor Matthew! Once of genius bright, A fortune-favored child — Now locked for aye, in mental night, A haggard mad-man wild.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But this is past; and nought remains, That raised thee o'er the brute. Thy piercing shrieks, and soothing strains, Are like, forever mute. Now fare thee well — more thou the cause, Than subject now of woe. All mental pangs, by time's kind laws, Hast lost the power to know. O death! Thou awe-inspiring prince, That keepst the world in fear; Why dost thou tear more blest ones hence, And leave him ling'ring here?”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every other calling, is diligence. Leave nothing for to-morrow which can be done to-day. Never let your correspondence fall behind. Whatever piece of business you have in hand, before stopping, do all the labor pertaining to it which can then be done.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1850 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Fragment, Notes for a Law Lecture (1 July 1850), cited in Abraham Lincoln: Complete Works, Comprising his Speeches, Letters, State Papers, and Miscellaneous Writings, Vol. 2 (1894)
“The Autocrat of all the Russias will resign his crown, and proclaim his subjects free republicans sooner than will our American masters voluntarily give up their slaves.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1855 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to George Robertson (15 August 1855)
“We live in the midst of alarms; anxiety beclouds the future; we expect some new disaster with each newspaper we read.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at Bloomington (29 May 1856)
“Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties. And not to Democrats alone do I make this appeal, but to all who love these great and true principles.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at Kalamazoo, Michigan (27 August 1856), Collected Works 1:391
“Our government rests in public opinion. Whoever can change public opinion, can change the government, practically just so much.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at a Republican Banquet, Chicago, Illinois, December 10, 1856; see Roy P. Basler, ed., The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, vol. 2 (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1953), p. 532
“As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Written speech fragment presented by to the Chicago Veterans Druggist's Association in 1906 by Judge James B. Bradwell, who claimed to have received it from Mary Todd Lincoln. Collected Works, 2:532
“Will springs from the two elements of moral sense and self-interest.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1857 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at Springfield, Illinois (26 June 1857)
“They have seen in his round, jolly fruitful face, post-offices, land-offices, marshalships and cabinet-appointments, charge-ships and foreign missions, bursting out in wonderful exuberance, ready to be laid hold of by their greedy hands. Nobody has ever expected me to be president. In my poor, lean lank face nobody has ever seen that any cabbages were sprouting.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1858 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in Springfield, Illinois (17 July 1858), referring to Stephen Douglas. Quoted in Charles Sumner (1861), The Promises of the Declaration of Independence
“All I ask for the negro is that if you not like him, let him alone. If God gave him but little let him enjoy.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1858 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech in Springfield, Illinois (17 July 1858)
“Understanding the spirit of our institutions to aim at the elevation of men, I am opposed to whatever tends to degrade them.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1859 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Dr. Theodore Canisius (17 May 1859)
“Negro equality! Fudge!! How long, in the government of a God, great enough to make and maintain this Universe, shall there continue to be knaves to vend, and fools to gulp, so low a piece of demagougeism as this?”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1859 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Fragments: Notes for Speeches, September 1859, The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (1953) Vol. III; No transcripts or reports exist indicating that he ever actually used this expression in any of his speeches.
“The Republican principle, the unalterable principle, never to be lost sight of, is that slavery is wrong.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1859 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech (1859)
“Wherever slavery is, it has been first introduced without law. The oldest laws we find concerning it, are not laws introducing it; but regulating it, as an already existing thing.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The negative principle that no law is free law, is not much known except among lawyers.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I insist, that if there is ANY THING which it is the duty of the WHOLE PEOPLE to never entrust to any hands but their own, that thing is the preservation and perpetuity, of their own liberties, and institutions.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man's nature — opposition to it, in his love of justice. These principles are an eternal antagonism; and when brought into collision so fiercely, as slavery extension brings them, shocks, and throes, and convulsions must ceaselessly follow. Repeal the Missouri Compromise — repeal all compromises — repeal the Declaration of Independence — repeal all past history, you still can not repeal human nature. It still will be the abundance of man's heart, that slavery extension is wrong; and out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth will continue to speak.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) said by 1865 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source