Historical voices

Unlike a case of war between independent nations, there is no organized organ for us to treat with,--no one man has authority to give up the rebellion for any other man.

Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.

I have always thought that all men should be free; but if any should be slaves, it should be first those who desire it for themselves, and secondly those who desire it for others.

Or, if one out of four will, for his own freedom fight to keep the other three in slavery, he ought to be a slave for his selfish meanness.

Men are not flattered by being shown that there has been a difference of purpose between the Almighty and them.

All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war.

Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish.

All dreaded it,--all sought to avert it.

Please read and answer this letter as though I was not President, but only a friend.

I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of…

But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

Gold is good in its place, but living, brave, patriotic men are better than gold.

Let us, therefore, study the incidents of this as philosophy to learn wisdom from, and none of them as wrongs to be revenged.

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.

We cannot have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us.

It is in order that each one of you may have, through this free government which we have enjoyed, an open field and a fair chance for your industry, enterprise, and intelligence; that you may all have equal privileges in the race of life…

It is not merely for to-day, but for all time to come, that we should perpetuate for our children's children that great and free government which we have enjoyed all our lives.

Hence we behold the process by which thousands are daily passing from under the yoke of bondage hailed by some as the advance of liberty, and bewailed by others as the destruction of all liberty.

Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name,--liberty.

With some, the word "liberty" may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself and the product of his labour; while with others, the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men and the product of other men's…

We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word, we do not all mean the same thing.

The world has never had a good definition of the word "liberty," and the American people, just now, are much in want of one.

If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North, as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the…

I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.