Abraham Lincoln Quotes

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War, its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. In doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy.

Table of Contents:

1. Early Life

2. Political Career

3. The American Civil War

4. The Emancipation Proclamation

5. The Gettysburg Address

6. Reconstruction

7. Later Years

8. Assassination

9. Legacy

10. Top Abraham Lincoln Quotes

Early Life

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, in a one-room log cabin on Nolin Creek in Kentucky’s Hardin County. His parents were Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Thomas Lincoln was a farmer and carpenter who moved his family to Indiana in 1816. Two years later, nine-year-old Abraham helped his father build a cabin in Spencer County, Indiana.

In 1818, Thomas Lincoln married Sarah Bush Johnston, a widow from Kentucky with three children. The couple had two more children together, and Abraham grew close to his stepbrothers and stepsisters.

In 1828, at the age of 19, Abraham started his own business in New Salem, Illinois, a small town where he also served as a postmaster and surveyor. The following year, he was elected to the Illinois state legislature as a Whig Party candidate.

Political Career

Lincoln began his political career in 1832, when he ran for a seat in the Illinois state legislature. He lost that election, but he won a seat in the state legislature in 1834. He was re-elected in 1836 and 1838. In 1846, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives.

During his time in Congress, Lincoln opposed the Mexican-American War and the extension of slavery into the western territories. He also gave a series of speeches known as the “House Divided” speeches, in which he predicted that the nation would eventually be divided over the issue of slavery.

In 1858, Lincoln ran for the United States Senate against Stephen Douglas, one of the most powerful politicians in Illinois. Lincoln lost the election, but the debates between him and Douglas made him a national figure.

The American Civil War

In 1860, Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States. He was the first Republican President and the first President from outside the eastern United States.

Lincoln’s election led to the secession of 11 southern states, and the American Civil War began in 1861. Lincoln’s primary goal was to preserve the Union, and he issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which freed the slaves in the rebellious states. He also oversaw the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery throughout the United States.

In 1865, Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant captured the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. On April 9, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, effectively ending the war.

Five days later, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer, at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.

The Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. The proclamation declared that all slaves in the rebellious states were to be “forever free.”

The Emancipation Proclamation did not free all slaves in the United States. It only applied to the states that had seceded from the Union. However, it was an important step in the process of abolishing slavery.

The Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address is a short speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863.

In the speech, Lincoln called for the nation to be “dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” He also called for a “new birth of freedom” in the United States.

The Gettysburg Address is one of the most famous speeches in American history. It is also one of the shortest, at just over two minutes in length.

Reconstruction

Reconstruction was the period of time, from 1865 to 1877, when the United States was rebuilding after the Civil War.

During Reconstruction, the federal government passed a series of laws known as the Reconstruction Acts, which placed the rebellious states under military rule. These laws also guaranteed civil rights for African Americans.

In 1867, the Reconstruction Acts were passed over President Andrew Johnson’s veto. Johnson, a Democrat, was opposed to the Reconstruction Acts. He was impeached by the House of Representatives in 1868, but he was acquitted by the Senate.

Later Years

In 1869, Lincoln’s successor, President Ulysses S. Grant, appointed him to the Supreme Court. However, Lincoln declined the appointment, and he never again held public office.

In 1870, Lincoln was elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans. He is the only President to have been elected to the Hall of Fame.

In 1871, Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, died. Lincoln was deeply affected by her death, and he never remarried.

Assassination

On April 14, 1865, five days after the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer, at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Booth shot Lincoln in the head, and the President died the following morning. Booth was later killed by Union soldiers.

Lincoln’s assassination was a shock to the nation. He was the first American President to be assassinated, and his death plunged the nation into mourning.

Legacy

“As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.” — Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln is remembered as one of the greatest Presidents in American history. He is credited with preserving the Union, abolishing slavery, and modernizing the economy. He is also remembered for his role in the American Civil War and for his famous speeches, including the Gettysburg Address.

Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, is now a national holiday in the United States. His likeness can be found on Mount Rushmore and on the penny.

Top Abraham Lincoln Quotes

“I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.” — Abraham Lincoln

“I have not permitted myself, gentlemen, to conclude that I am the best man in the country; but I am reminded, in this connection, of a story of an old Dutch farmer who remarked to a companion once that ‘it was not best to swap horses while crossing streams’.” — Abraham Lincoln

“There are no bad pictures; that’s just how your face looks sometimes.” — Abraham Lincoln

“In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free — honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Human nature will not change. In any future great national trial, compared with the men of this, we shall have as weak and as strong, as silly and as wise, as bad and as good.” — Abraham Lincoln

“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” — Abraham Lincoln

“And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear, and with manly hearts.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Adhere to your purpose and you will soon feel as well as you ever did. On the contrary, if you falter, and give up, you will lose the power of keeping any resolution, and will regret it all your life.” — Abraham Lincoln

“You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry.” — Abraham Lincoln

“This is a world of compensations; and he who would be no slave, must consent to have no slave. Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.” — Abraham Lincoln

“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Tact: the ability to describe others as they see themselves.” — Abraham Lincoln

“The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.” — Abraham Lincoln

“You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” — Abraham Lincoln

“If I am killed, I can die but once; but to live in constant dread of it, is to die over and over again.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.” — Abraham Lincoln

“I would rather be a little nobody, then to be an evil somebody.” — Abraham Lincoln

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”— Abraham Lincoln

“Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” — Abraham Lincoln

“You think slavery is right and should be extended; while we think slavery is wrong and ought to be restricted. That I suppose is the rub. It certainly is the only substantial difference between us.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” — Abraham Lincoln

“I have a congenital aversion to failure.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” — Abraham Lincoln

“For people who like that kind of a book that is the kind of book they will like.” — Abraham Lincoln

“I happen temporarily to occupy this big White House. I am living witness that any one of your children may look to come here as my father’s child has.” — Abraham Lincoln

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” — Abraham Lincoln

“A farce or comedy is best played; a tragedy is best read at home.” — Abraham Lincoln

“No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.” — Abraham Lincoln

“I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Love is the chain to lock a child to its parent.” — Abraham Lincoln

“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.” — Abraham Lincoln

“I know not how to aid you, save in the assurance of one of mature age, and much severe experience, that you can not fail, if you resolutely determine, that you will not.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any other thing.” — Abraham Lincoln

“And in the end it is not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.” — Abraham Lincoln

“The demon of intemperance ever seems to have delighted in sucking the blood of genius and of generosity.” — Abraham Lincoln

“He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.” — Abraham Lincoln

“I’m a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn’t have the heart to let him down.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be changed.” — Abraham Lincoln

“Every man’s happiness is his own responsibility.” — Abraham Lincoln

“I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot.” — Abraham Lincoln

“I have stepped out upon this platform that I may see you and that you may see me, and in the arrangement I have the best of the bargain.”— Abraham Lincoln

“The one victory we can ever call complete will be that one which proclaims that there is not one slave or one drunkard on the face of God’s green earth.” — Abraham Lincoln

“What is to be, will be, and no prayers of ours can arrest the decree.” — Abraham Lincoln

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