allusion to an assumed constitutional right of yours to take slaves into
the Federal Territories, and to hold them there as property. But no such
right is specifically written in the Constitution. That instrument is
literally silent about any such right. We, on the contrary, deny that
such a right has any existence in the Constitution, even by implication.
Your purpose, then, plainly stated, is that you will destroy the
government, unless you be allowed to construe and force the Constitution
as you please, on all points in dispute between you and us. You will
rule or ruin in all events.
This, plainly stated, is your language. Perhaps you will say the Supreme
Court has decided the disputed constitutional question in your favour.
Not quite so. But waiving the lawyer's distinction between dictum and
decision, the court has decided the question for you in a sort of way.
The court has substantially said, it is your constitutional right to
take slaves into the Federal Territories, and to hold them there as
property. When I say the decision was made in a sort of way, I mean it
was made in a divided court, by a bare majority of the judges, and they
not quite agreeing with one another in the reasons for making it; that
it is so made as that its avowed supporters disagree with one another
about its meaning, and that it was mainly based upon a mistaken
statement of fact--the statement in the opinion that "the right of
property in a slave is distinctly and expressly affirmed in the
Constitution."
An inspection of the Constitution will show that the right of property
in a slave is not "distinctly and expressly affirmed" in it. Bear in
mind, the judges do not pledge their judicial opinion that such right is
impliedly affirmed in the Constitution; but they pledge their veracity
that it is "distinctly and expressly" affirmed there--"distinctly," that
is, not mingled with anything else; "expressly," that is, in words
meaning just that, without the aid of any inference, and susceptible of
no other meaning.
If they had only pledged their judicial opinion that such right is
affirmed in the instrument by implication, it would be open to others to
show that neither the word "slave" nor "slavery" is to be found in the
Constitution, nor the word "property," even, in any connection with
language alluding to the things slave or slavery; and that wherever in
that instrument the slave is alluded to, he is called a "person"; and
wherever his master's legal right in relation to him is alluded to, it
is spoken of as "service or labour which may be due"--as a debt payable
in service or labour. Also it would be open to show, by contemporaneous
history, that this mode of alluding to slaves and slavery, instead of
speaking of them, was employed on purpose to exclude from the
Constitution the idea that there could be property in man.
To show all this is easy and certain.
When this obvious mistake of the judges shall be brought to their
notice, is it not reasonable to expect that they will withdraw the
mistaken statement, and reconsider the conclusion based upon it?
And then it is to be remembered that "our fathers who framed
the government under which we live"--the men who made the
Constitution--decided this same constitutional question in our favour
long ago; decided it without division among themselves when making the
decision; without division among themselves about the meaning of it
after it was made, and, so far as any evidence is left, without basing
it upon any mistaken statement of facts.
Under all these circumstances, do you really feel yourselves justified
to break up this government unless such a court decision as yours is
shall be at once submitted to as a conclusive and final rule of
political action? But you will not abide the election of a Republican
President! In that supposed event, you say, you will destroy the Union;
and then, you say, the great crime of having destroyed it will be upon
us! That is cool. A highwayman holds a pistol to my ear, and mutters
through his teeth, "Stand and deliver, or I shall kill you, and then you
will be a murderer!"
To be sure, what the robber demanded of me--my money--was my own; and I
had a clear right to keep it; but it was no more my own than my vote is
my own; and the threat of death to me, to extort my money, and the
threat of destruction to the Union, to extort my vote, can scarcely be
distinguished in principle.
* * * * *
Wrong as we think slavery is, we can yet afford to let it alone where it
is, because that much is due to the necessity arising from its actual
presence in the nation; but can we, while our votes will prevent it,
allow it to spread into the national Territories, and to overrun us here
in these free States? If our sense of duty forbids this, then let us
stand by our duty fearlessly and effectively. Let us be diverted by none
of those sophistical contrivances wherewith we are so industriously
plied and belaboured,--contrivances such as groping for some middle
ground between the right and the wrong, vain as the search for a man who
should be neither a living man nor a dead man; such as a policy of
"don't care," on a question about which all true men do care; such as
Union appeals beseeching true Union men to yield to disunionists,
reversing the Divine rule, and calling not the sinners, but the
righteous to repentance; such as invocations to Washington, imploring
men to unsay what Washington said, and undo what Washington did.
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 understand
it.
_Lincoln's Farewell Address at Springfield, Illinois. February 11, 1861_
My Friends, No one not in my situation can appreciate my feeling of
sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these
people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and
have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children 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 which rested upon
Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever
attended him I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail.
Trusting in Him, who can go with me and remain with you, and be
everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well.
To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend
me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.
_A Letter to the Hon. Geo. Ashmun accepting his Nomination for the
Presidency. May 23, 1860_
I accept the nomination tendered me by the Convention over which you
presided, and of which I am formally apprized in the letter of yourself
and others, acting as a committee of the Convention for that purpose.
The declaration of principles and sentiments which accompanies your
letter, meets my approval; and it shall be my care not to violate or
disregard it in any part.
Imploring the assistance of Divine Providence, and with due regard to
the views and feelings of all who were represented in the Convention; to
the rights of all the States and Territories and people of the nation;
to the inviolability of the Constitution; and the perpetual union,
harmony, and prosperity of all,--I am most happy to co-operate for the
practical success of the principles declared by the Convention.
Your obliged friend and fellow-citizen,
A. LINCOLN.
_Letter to Miss Grace Bedell. Springfield, Illinois. October 19, 1860_
My dear little Miss, Your very agreeable letter of the 15th is received.
I regret the necessity of saying I have no daughter. I have three
sons--one seventeen, one nine, and one seven years of age. They, with
their mother, constitute my whole family. As to the whiskers, having
never worn any, do you not think people would call it a piece of silly
affectation if I were to begin it now?
_From an Address to the Legislature at Indianapolis, Indiana. February
12, 1861_
Fellow-citizens of the State of Indiana, I am here to thank you much for
this magnificent welcome, and still more for the generous support given
by your State to that political cause which I think is the true and just
cause of the whole country and the whole world.
Solomon says "there is a time to keep silence," and when men wrangle by
the mouth with no certainty that they mean the same thing while using
the same word, it perhaps were as well if they would keep silence.
The words "coercion" and "invasion" are much used in these days, and
often with some temper and hot blood. Let us make sure, if we can, that
we do not misunderstand the meaning of those who use them. Let us get
exact definitions of these words, not from dictionaries, but from the
men themselves, who certainly deprecate the things they would represent
by the use of words. What then is _coercion_? what is _invasion_? Would
the marching of an army into South Carolina, without the consent of her
people and with hostile intent towards them, be invasion? I certainly
think it would; and it would be coercion also, if the South Carolinians
were forced to submit. But if the United States should merely retake and
hold its own forts and other property, and collect the duties on foreign
importations, or even withhold the mails from places where they were
habitually violated, would any or all these things be invasion or
coercion? Do our professed lovers of the Union, but who spitefully
resolve that they will resist coercion and invasion, understand that
such things as these, on the part of the United States, would be
coercion or invasion of a State? If so, their idea of means to preserve
the object of their affection would seem exceedingly thin and airy. If
sick, the little pills of the homoeopathist would be much too large for
them to swallow. In their view, the Union as a family relation would
seem to be no regular marriage, but a sort of free-love arrangement to
be maintained only on _passional attraction_.
By the way, in what consists the special sacredness of a State? I speak
not of the position assigned to a State in the Union by the
Constitution; for that, by the bond, we all recognize. That position,
however, a State cannot carry out of the Union with it. I speak of that
assumed primary right of a State to rule all which is _less_ than
itself, and ruin all which is larger than itself. If a State and a
county in a given case should be equal in extent of territory, and equal
in number of inhabitants, in what, as a matter of principle, is the
State better than the county? Would an exchange of _names_ be an
exchange of _rights_ upon principle? On what rightful principle may a
State, being not more than one-fiftieth part of the nation in soil and
population, break up the nation, and then coerce a proportionally larger
subdivision of itself in the most arbitrary way? What mysterious right
to play tyrant is conferred on a district of country, with its people,
by merely calling it a State?
Fellow-citizens, I am not asserting anything: I am merely asking
questions for you to consider. And now allow me to bid you farewell.
_From his Address to the Legislature at Columbus, Ohio. February 13,
1861_
It is true, as has been said by the president of the Senate, that a very
great responsibility rests upon me in the position to which the votes of
the American people have called me. I am deeply sensible of that weighty
responsibility. I cannot but know, what you all know, that without a
name, perhaps without a reason why I should have a name, there has
fallen upon me a task such as did not rest even upon the Father of his
Country; and so feeling, I cannot but turn and look for that support
without which it will be impossible for me to perform that great task. I
turn then, and look to the great American people, and to that God who
has never forsaken them. Allusion has been made to the interest felt in
relation to the policy of the new Administration. In this I have
received from some a degree of credit for having kept silence, and from
others, some deprecation. I still think I was right.
In the varying and repeatedly shifting scenes of the present, and
without a precedent which could enable me to judge by the past, it has
seemed fitting that before speaking upon the difficulties of the
country, I should have gained a view of the whole field, being at
liberty to modify and change the course of policy as future events may
make a change necessary.
I have not maintained silence from any want of real anxiety. It is a
good thing that there is no more than anxiety, for there is nothing
going wrong. It is a consoling circumstance that when we look out, there
is nothing that really hurts anybody. We entertain different views upon
political questions, but nobody is suffering anything. This is a most
consoling circumstance, and from it we may conclude that all we want is
time, patience, and a reliance on that God who has never forsaken this
people.
_From his Remarks at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. February 15, 1861_
... The condition of the country is an extraordinary one, and fills the
mind of every patriot with anxiety. It is my intention to give this
subject all the consideration I possibly can, before specially deciding
in regard to it, so that when I do speak, it may be as nearly right as
possible. When I do speak, I hope I may say nothing in opposition to the
spirit of the Constitution, contrary to the integrity of the Union, or
which will prove inimical to the liberties of the people or to the peace
of the whole country. And furthermore, when the time arrives for me to
speak on this great subject, I hope I may say nothing to disappoint the
people generally throughout the country, especially if the expectation
has been based upon anything which I have heretofore said.
... If the great American people only keep their temper on both sides of
the line, the troubles will come to an end, and the question which now
distracts the country will be settled, just as surely as all other
difficulties of a like character which have originated in this
government have been adjusted. Let the people on both sides keep their
self-possession, and just as other clouds have cleared away in due time,
so will this great nation continue to prosper as heretofore.
... It is often said that the tariff is the specialty of Pennsylvania.
Assuming that direct taxation is not to be adopted, the tariff question
must be as durable as the government itself. It is a question of
national house-keeping. It is to the government what replenishing the
meal-tub is to the family. Ever-varying circumstances will require
frequent modifications as to the amount needed and the sources of
supply. So far there is little difference of opinion among the people.
It is only whether, and how far, duties on imports shall be adjusted to
favour home productions. In the home market that controversy begins. One
party insists that too much protection oppresses one class for the
advantage of another; while the other party argues that, with all its
incidents, in the long run all classes are benefited. In the Chicago
platform there is a plank upon this subject, which should be a general
law to the incoming Administration. We should do neither more nor less
than we gave the people reason to believe we would when they gave us
their votes. That plank is as I now read:
"That while providing revenue for the support of the general
government by duties upon imports, sound policy requires such an
adjustment of these imposts as will encourage the development of
the industrial interest of the whole country; and we commend that
policy of national exchanges which secures to working-men liberal
wages, to agriculture remunerating prices, to mechanics and
manufacturers adequate reward for their skill, labour, and
enterprise, and to the nation commercial prosperity and
independence."
... My political education strongly inclines me against a very free use
of any of the means by the Executive to control the legislation of the
country. As a rule, I think it better that Congress should originate as
well as perfect its measures without external bias. I therefore would
rather recommend to every gentleman who knows he is to be a member of
the next Congress, to take an enlarged view, and post himself
thoroughly, so as to contribute his part to such an adjustment of the
tariff as shall provide a sufficient revenue, and in its other bearings,
so far as possible, be just and equal to all sections of the country and
classes of the people.
_From his Speech at Trenton to the Senate of New Jersey. February 21,
1861_
... I cannot but remember the place that New Jersey holds in our early
history. In the early Revolutionary struggle few of the States among the
old thirteen had more of the battle-fields of the country within their
limits than old New Jersey. May I be pardoned if, upon this occasion, I
mention that away back in my childhood, the earliest days of my being
able to read, I got hold of a small book, such a one as few of the
younger members have ever seen,--"Weems's Life of Washington." I
remember all the accounts there given of the battle-fields and struggles
for the liberties of the country, and none fixed themselves upon my
imagination so deeply as the struggle here at Trenton, New Jersey. The
crossing of the river, the contest with the Hessians, the great
hardships endured at that time,--all fixed themselves upon my memory
more than any single Revolutionary event; and you all know, for you have
all been boys, how those early impressions last longer than any others.
I recollect thinking then, boy even though I was, that there must have
been something more than common that these men struggled for. I am
exceedingly anxious that that thing--that something even more than
national independence; that something that held out a great promise to
all the people of the world for all time to come,--I am exceedingly
anxious that this Union, the Constitution, and the liberties of the
people shall be perpetuated in accordance with the original idea for
which the struggle was made, and I shall be most happy indeed if I shall
be an humble instrument in the hands of the Almighty, and of this, His
most chosen people, for perpetuating the object of that great struggle.
_Address in Independence Hall, Philadelphia. February 22, 1861_
I am filled with deep emotion at finding myself standing in this place,
where were collected together the wisdom, the patriotism, the devotion
to principle, from which sprang the institutions under which we live.
You have kindly suggested to me that in my hands is the task of
restoring peace to our distracted country. I can say in return, sir,
that all the political sentiments I entertain have been drawn, so far as
I have been able to draw them, from the sentiments which originated in
and were given to the world from this hall. I have never had a feeling,
politically, that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the
Declaration of Independence.
I have often pondered over the dangers which were incurred by the men
who assembled here and framed and adopted that Declaration. I have
pondered over the toils that were endured by the officers and soldiers
of the army who achieved that independence. I have often inquired of
myself what great principle or idea it was that kept this Confederacy so
long together. It was not the mere matter of separation of the colonies
from the motherland, but that sentiment in the Declaration of
Independence which gave liberty not alone to the people of this country,
but hope to all the world, for all future time. It was that which gave
promise that in due time the weights would be lifted from the shoulders
of all men, and that all should have an equal chance. This is the
sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence.
Now, my friends, can this country be saved on that basis? If it can, I
will consider myself one of the happiest men in the world if I can help
to save it. If it cannot be saved upon that principle, it will be truly
awful. But if this country cannot be saved without giving up that
principle, I was about to say I would rather be assassinated on this
spot than surrender it.
Now, in my view of the present aspect of affairs, there is no need of
bloodshed and war. There is no necessity for it. I am not in favour of
such a course; and I may say in advance that there will be no bloodshed
unless it is forced upon the government. The government will not use
force unless force is used against it.
My friends, this is wholly an unprepared speech. I did not expect to be
called on to say a word when I came here. I supposed I was merely to do
something toward raising a flag. I may, therefore, have said something
indiscreet. But I have said nothing but what I am willing to live by,
and, if it be the pleasure of Almighty God, to die by.
_Reply to the Mayor of Washington, D.C. February 27, 1861_
Mr. Mayor, I thank you, and through you the municipal authorities of
this city who accompany you, for this welcome. And as it is the first
time in my life, since the present phase of politics has presented
itself in this country, that I have said anything publicly within a
region of country where the institution of slavery exists, I will take
this occasion to say that I think very much of the ill-feeling that has
existed and still exists between the people in the section from which I
came and the people here, is dependent upon a misunderstanding of one
another. I therefore avail myself of this opportunity to assure you, Mr.
Mayor, and all the gentlemen present, that I have not now, and never
have had, any other than as kindly feelings towards you as to the people
of my own section. I have not now and never have had any disposition to
treat you in any respect otherwise than as my own neighbours. I have not
now any purpose to withhold from you any of the benefits of the
Constitution under any circumstances, that I would not feel myself
constrained to withhold from my own neighbours; and I hope, in a word,
that when we become better acquainted,--and I say it with great
confidence,--we shall like each other the more. I thank you for the
kindness of this reception.
_First Inaugural Address. March 4, 1861_
Fellow-citizens of the United States, In compliance with a custom as old
as the government itself, I appear before you to address you briefly,
and to take in your presence the oath prescribed by the Constitution of
the United States to be taken by the President "before he enters on the
execution of his office."
I do not consider it necessary at present for me to discuss those
matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety or
excitement.
Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that
by the accession of a Republican administration their property and their
peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been
any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample
evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to
their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of
him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches
when I declare that "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to
interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists.
I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to
do so." Those who nominated and elected me did so with full knowledge
that I had made this and many similar declarations, and had never
recanted them. And, more than this, they placed in the platform for my
acceptance, and as a law to themselves and to me, the clear and emphatic
resolution which I now read:--
"_Resolved_, That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the
States, and especially the right of each State to order and control
its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment
exclusively, is essential to that balance of power on which the
perfection and endurance of our political fabric depend, and we
denounce the lawless invasion by armed force of the soil of any
State or Territory, no matter under what pretext, as among the
gravest of crimes."