Surely, if the murdered President could but have been present, beside his old associate, at that scene, he would have thought the shouts that brought back his name the sweetest praise the lips of mortals ever bore him.
Whitelaw Reid: “Surely, if the murdered President could but have been present, beside his old associate, at that scene, he would have…”
Editor's note · Context
Reid reflects on the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and the emotional impact of his assassination on the nation.
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Let me repeat, that I think it best for all men—white men, black men, and brown men, if you make that distinction, that all men of proper age and unconvicted of crime, should have the right of suffrage.
Ordinarily the simple performance of duty is so blessed of God, that men who live in the doing of it, are the best off, in all respects, even in this world.
It has proved, also, that universal suffrage is the surest guarantee and most powerful stimulus of individual, social and political progress.
He who has that right will usually respect himself more, be more respected, perform more, and more productive work, and do more to increase the wealth and welfare of the community, than he who has it not.