And if there be a man amongst us who is so impatient of it as a wrong as to disregard its actual presence among us, and the difficulty of getting rid of it suddenly in a satisfactory way, and to disregard the constitutional obligations thrown about it, that man is misplaced if he is on our platform.
In the final debate with Stephen Douglas, Lincoln clarified the Republican platform, distinguishing it from those who would disregard constitutional obligations or practical difficulties in ending slavery.
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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;
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds.
The question is, will it be wiser to take it as it is and help to improve it, or to reject and disperse it?
Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.
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