I confess I hate to see the poor creatures hunted down and caught and carried back to their stripes and unrequited toil; but I bite my lips and keep quiet.
On the recordAugust 24, 1855
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gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
In a letter to his friend Joshua Speed, Lincoln expresses his personal moral revulsion at the enforcement of fugitive slave laws, contrasting it with his constitutional obligations.
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