Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new, North as well as South.
In his "House Divided" speech, Lincoln outlined the two stark paths he believed the nation would take regarding slavery: either its containment leading to extinction or its expansion to all states.
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The question is, will it be wiser to take it as it is and help to improve it, or to reject and disperse it?
Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.
Grant that he desires the elective franchise, will he not attain it sooner by saving the already advanced steps towards it, than by running backward over them?
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