When Judge Douglas says that whoever or whatever community wants slaves, they have a right to have them, he is perfectly logical if there is nothing wrong in the institution; but if you admit that it is wrong, he cannot logically say that anybody has a right to do wrong.
Editor's note · Context
In notes for speeches from October 1858, Lincoln argues that Stephen Douglas's popular sovereignty is only logical if slavery is not considered wrong, as no one has a right to do wrong.
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