Near eighty years ago we began by declaring that all men are created equal; but now from that beginning we have run down to the other declaration, that for some men to enslave others is a sacred right of self-government.
Lincoln starkly contrasted the Declaration of Independence's assertion of human equality with the modern argument that slavery was a sacred right of self-government, highlighting a profound moral decline.
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More from Abraham Lincoln
As a general rule I abstain from reading the reports of attacks upon myself, wishing not to be provoked by that to which I cannot properly offer an answer.
If the end brings me out wrong, ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference.
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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