Political Quotes

“H. Con. Res. 281 celebrates the birth of Abraham Lincoln and recognizes the prominence the Declaration of Independence played in the development of his beliefs. I am honored and pleased to stand with my friends in the Illinois delegation as we honor our 16th President on his 199th birthday and kick off the nationwide bicentennial celebration of his birth. Abraham Lincoln has achieved universal recognition as one of the greatest Presidents in American history. Today we recognize the life and legacy of the man who had the moral courage and political acumen to end the abominable practice of slavery in America and to save an imperiled Union from secession and civil war. We also emphasize the prominent role the Declaration of Independence played in President Lincoln's political philosophy. President Lincoln often cited the Declaration of Independence as a basis for his opposition to slavery and as his inspiration for saving the Union. On his inaugural journey to Washington, President Lincoln stopped in Philadelphia at the site where the Declaration of Independence had been signed and declared, "I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence." In the Gettysburg Address, he defined the end of the war as a rededication to the ideals of that founding document.”