Whoever in any section proposes to abandon such a government, would do well to consider in deference to what principle it is that he does it; what better he is likely to get in its stead; whether the substitute will give, or be intended to give, so much of good to the people?
Lincoln challenged those who sought to abandon the existing government to justify their actions and consider whether any alternative could offer comparable benefits to the people.
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He said, with a great deal of emphasis, and with an expression of countenance I shall never forget: "When a man is sincerely penitent for his misdeeds, and gives satisfactory evidence of the same, he can safely be pardoned, and there is no…
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Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.
Now, therefore, be it known that I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do issue this my proclamation, as required by said act, ordering and requiting all deserters to return to their proper posts;
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