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I Never Had A Policy; I Have Just Tried To Do My Very Best Each And Every Day.
-Abraham Lincoln
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I Never Had A

Abraham Lincoln
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I Never Had A Policy; I Have Just Tried To Do My Very Best Each And Every Day.

Understanding the Quote: "i never had a policy; i have just tried to do my..."

This quote by Abraham Lincoln reflects deeply on the theme of motivational. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Motivational, Integrity, Character, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Abraham Lincoln interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln is celebrated for insightful thoughts on motivational and integrity. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Motivational
Integrity
Character
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Through Their Deeds, The Dead Of Battle Have Spoken More Eloquently For Themselves Than Any Of The Living Ever Could. But We Can Only Honor Them By Rededicating Ourselves To The Cause For Which They Gave A Last Full Measure Of Devotion.
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Senator Douglas Holds, We Know, That A Man May Rightfully Be Wiser Today Than He Was Yesterday - That He May Rightfully Change When He Finds Himself Wrong. But Can We, For That Reason, Run Ahead, And Infer That He Will Make Any Particular Change, Of Which He, Himself, Has Given No Intimation?
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The People Will Save Their Government, If The Government Itself Will Allow Them.
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We Find Ourselves Under The Government Of A System Of Political Institutions, Conducing More Essentially To The Ends Of Civil And Religious Liberty, Than Any Of Which The History Of Former Times Tells Us.
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I Hold The Value Of Life Is To Improve One's Condition. Whatever Is Calculated To Advance The Condition Of The Honest, Struggling Laboring Man, So Far As My Judgment Will Enable Me To Judge Of A Correct Thing, I Am For That Thing.
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If You Wish To Win A Man Over To Your Ideas, First Make Him Your Friend.
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Trusting In Him, Who Can Go With Me, And Remain With You And Be Every Where For Good, Let Us Confidently Hope That All Will Yet Be Well. To His Care Commending You, As I Hope In Your Prayers You Will Commend Me, I Bid You An Affectionate Farewell.
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I ... Ran For Legislature [in 1832] ... And Was Beaten-the Only Time I Have Been Beaten By The People.
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There's No Honorable Way To Kill, No Gentle Way To Destroy. There Is Nothing Good In War. Except Its Ending.
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If I Am Killed, I Can Die By Once; But To Live In Constant Dread Of It, Is To Die Over And Over Again.
Dread
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Its Authors Meant It To Be... A Stumbling Block To Those Who In After Times Might Seek To Turn A Free People Back Into The Hateful Paths Of Despotism. They Knew The Proneness Of Prosperity To Breed Tyrants, And They Meant When Such Should Re-appear In This Fair Land And Commence Their Vocation They Should Find Left For Them At Least One Hard Nut To Crack.
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Now We Are Engaged In A Great Civil War, Testing Whether That Nation, Or Any Nation So Conceived And So Dedicated, Can Long Endure.
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I Have Had So Many Evidences Of [god's] Direction, So Many Instances When I Have Been Controlled By Some Other Power Than My Own Will, That I Cannot Doubt That This Power Comes From Above.
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That Everyone May Receive At Least A Moderate Education Appears To Be An Objective Of Vital Importance.
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Whatever Woman May Cast Her Lot With Mine, Should Any Ever Do So, It Is My Intention To Do All In My Power To Make Her Happy And Contented; And There Is Nothing I Can Imagine That Would Make Me More Unhappy Than To Fail In The Effort.
Happiness
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If You Intend To Go To Work There Is No Better Place Than Right Where You Are; If You Do Not Intend To Go To Work, You Can Not Get Along Anywhere.
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There Is An Important Sense In Which Government Is Distinctive From Administration. One Is Perpetual, The Other Is Temporary And Changeable. A Man May Be Loyal To His Government And Yet Oppose The Particular Principles And Methods Of Administration.
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We Cannot Ask A Man What He Will Do, And If We Should, And He Should Answer Us, We Should Despise Him For It. Therefore We Must Take A Man Whose Opinions Are Known.
Men
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Behind The Cloud The Sun Is Still Shining.
Encouraging
Uplifting
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Such A Man The Times Have Demanded, And Such, In The Providence Of God Was Given Us. But He Is Gone. Let Us Strive To Deserve, As Far As Mortals May, The Continued Care Of Divine Providence, Trusting That, In Future National Emergencies, He Will Not Fail To Provide Us The Instruments Of Safety And Security.
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Here In My Heart, My Happiness, My House. Here Inside The Lighted Window Is My Love, My Hope, My Life. Peace Is My Companion On The Pathway Winding To The Threshold. Inside This Portal Dwells New Strength In The Security, Serenity, And Radiance Of Those I Love Above Life Itself. Here Two Will Build New Dreams--dreams That Tomorrow Will Come True. The World Over, These Are The Thoughts At Eventide When Footsteps Turn Ever Homeward. In The Haven Of The Hearthside Is Rest And Peace And Comfort.
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Public Opinion, Though Often Formed Upon A Wrong Basis, Yet Generally Has A Strong Underlying Sense Of Justice.
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Let None Falter Who Thinks He Is Right, And We May Succeed. But If, After All, We Shall Fail, Be It So: We Still Shall Have The Proud Consolation Of Saying To Our Consciences, And To The Departed Shade Of Our Country's Freedom, That The Cause Approved Of Our Judgment And Adored Of Our Hearts, In Disaster, In Chains, In Torture, In Death, We Never Faltered In Defending.
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Tact Is The Ability To Describe Others As They See Themselves.
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I Turn, Then, And Look To The American People And To That God Who Has Never Forsaken Them.
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I Walk Slowly, But Never Backwards.
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No Duty Is More Imperative For The Government Than The Duty It ;owes The People To Furnish Them With A Sound And Uniform Currency, An Of Regulating The Circulation Of The Medium Of Exchange So That Labor Will Be Protected From A Vicious Currency [private Bank-created, Interest-bearing Debt], And Commerce Will Be Facilitated By Cheap And Safe Exchanges.
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Great Men Are Ordinary Men With Extra Ordinary Determination.
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As An Individual Who Undertakes To Live By Borrowing, Soon Finds His Original Means Devoured By Interest, And Next No One Left To Borrow From - So Must It Be With A Government.
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Upon The Subject Of Education, Not Presuming To Dictate Any Plan Or System Respecting It, I Can Only Say That I View It As The Most Important Subject Which We As A People Can Be Engaged In. That Every Man May Receive At Least A Moderate Education...appears To Be An Object Of Vital Importance...
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Few Can Be Induced To Labor Exclusively For Posterity - Posterity Has Done Nothing For Us
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With This Honor Devolves Upon You Also A Corresponding Responsibility. As The Country Herein Trusts You, So Under God It Will Sustain You.
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All That I Am, Or Hope To Be, I Owe To My Angel Mother.
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I Believe This Government Cannot Endure, Permanently Half Slave And Half Free.
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I Am An Optimist Because I Don't See The Point In Being Anything Else.
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Freedom Is Not The Right To Do What We Want, But What We Ought
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The Demon Of Intemperance Ever Seems To Have Delighted In Sucking The Blood Of Genius And Of Generosity.
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We Must Remember That The People Of All The States Are Entitled To All The Privileges And Immunities Of The Citizen Of The Several States. We Should Bear This In Mind, And Act In Such A Way As To Say Nothing Insulting Or Irritating. I Would Inculcate This Idea, So That We May Not, Like Pharisees, Set Ourselves Up To Be Better Than Other People.
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I Always Remember The Prayers Of My Mother As They Always Forever.
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Two Of My Favorite Things Are Sitting On My Front Porch Smoking A Pipe Of Sweet Hemp, And Playing My Hohner Harmonica.
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President Lincoln Was Once Criticized For His Attitude Toward His Enemies. "why Do You Try To Make Friends Of Them?" Asked An Associate. "you Should Try To Destroy Them." "am I Not Destroying My Enemies," Lincoln Gently Replied, "when I Make Them My Friends?"
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When I Get Ready To Talk To People, I Spend Two Thirds Of The Time Thinking What They Want To Hear And One Third Thinking About What I Want To Say.
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It Is Rather For Us Here Dedicated To The Great Task Remaining Before Us, That From These Honored Dead We Take Increased Devotion To That Cause For Which They Gave The Last Full Measure Of Devotion.
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I Failed, I Failed, And That Is About All That Can Be Said About It.
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Most People Are As Happy As They Want To Be.
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No Client Ever Had Money Enough To Bribe My Conscience Or To Stop Its Utterance Against Wrong, And Oppression.
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If The Negro Is A Man, Why Then My Ancient Faith Teaches Me That ‘all Men Are Created Equal,' And That There Can Be No Moral Right In Connection With One Man's Making A Slave Of Another.
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The Man Does Not Live Who Is More Devoted To Peace Than I Am. None Who Would Do More To Preserve It.
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I Care Not Much For A Man's Religion Whose Dog And Cat Are Not The Better For It.
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[if Not Re-elected In 1864] Then It Will Be My Duty To So Co-operate With The President Elect, As To Save The Union Between The Election And The Inauguration; As He Will Have Secured His Election On Such Ground That He Can Not Possibly Save It Afterwards.
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And Upon This Act [emancipation Proclamation]...i Invoke...the Gracious Favor Of Almighty God.
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If I Were Two-faced, Would I Be Wearing This One?
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The Demon Of Intemperance Ever Seems To Have Delighted In Sucking The Blood Of Genius And Of Generosity. What One Of Us But Can Call To Mind Some Relative More Promising In Youth Than All His Fellows, Who Has Fallen A Sacrifice To His Rapacity?
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One Eighth Of The Whole Population Were Colored Slaves, Not Distributed Generally Over The Union, But Localized In The Southern Part Of It. These Slaves Constituted A Peculiar And Powerful Interest. All Knew That This Interest Was, Somehow, The Cause Of The War.
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I Affect No Contempt For The High Eminence He [senator Stephen Douglas] Has Reached. So Reached, That The Oppressed Of My Species,might Have Shared With Me In The Elevation, I Would Rather Stand On That Eminence, Than Wear The Richest Crown That Ever Pressed A Monarch's Brow.
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I Like To See A Man Proud Of The Place In Which He Lives. I Like To See A Man Live So That His Place Will Be Proud Of Him.
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You Cannot Help Small Men By Tearing Down Big Men.
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I Confess I Hate To See The Poor Creatures Hunted Down But I Bite My Lip And Keep Quiet.
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I Am Rather Inclined To Silence, And Whether That Be Wise Or Not, It Is At Least More Unusual Nowadays To Find A Man Who Can Hold His Tongue Than To Find One Who Cannot.
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I Am Slow To Listen To Criminations Among Friends, And Never Espouse Their Quarrels On Either Side. My Sincere Wish Is That Both Sides Will Allow Bygones To Be Bygones, And Look To The Present & Future Only.
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I Could Not Sleep When I Got On The Hunt For An Idea, Until I Had Caught It. This Was A Kind Of Passion With Me, And It Has Stuck With Me.
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But Fight We Must; And Conquer We Shall; In The End.
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Reduce The Supply Of Black Labor By Colonizing The Black Laborer Out Of The Country, And By Precisely So Much You Increase The Demand For And Wages Of White Labor.
Country
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The Enthusiastic Uprising Of The People In Our Cause, Is Our Great Reliance; And We Can Not Safely Give It Any Check, Even Thoughit Overflows, And Runs In Channels Not Laid Down In Any Chart.
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Why Don't You Laugh? If I Did Not Laugh I Should Die, And You Need This Medicine As Much As I Do.
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In The Present Civil War It Is Quite Possible That God's Purpose Is Something Different From The Purpose Of Either Party.
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When You Have Got An Elephant By The Hind Legs And He Is Trying To Run Away, It's Best To Let Him Run.
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I Think That God Means That We Shall Do More Than We Have Yet Done In Furtherance Of His Plans And He Will Open The Way For Our Doing It.
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Done
He Who Sees Cruelty And Does Nothing About It Is Himself Cruel.
Animal
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The Autocrat Of All The Russias Will Resign His Crown, And Proclaim His Subjects Free Republicans Sooner Than Will Our American Masters Voluntarily Give Up Their Slaves.
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I Shall Do Less Whenever I Shall Believe What I Am Doing Hurts The Cause And I Shall Do More Whenever I Shall Believe Doing More Will Help The Cause. I Shall Try To Correct Errors When Shown To Be Errors And I Shall Adopt New Views So Fast As They Shall Appear To Be True Views.
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I Don't Know Who My Grandfather Was; I Am Much More Concerned To Know What His Grandson Will Be.
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Nothing Is Stronger Than Gentleness.
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We Must Work Earnestly In The Best Light He Gives Us.
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It Is For Us And Our Time...to Say The Right Makes Might.
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I Claim Not To Have Controlled Events, But Confess Plainly That Events Have Controlled Me. Now, At The End Of Three Years Struggle The Nation's Condition Is Not What Either Party, Or Any Man Devised, Or Expected. God Alone Can Claim It. Whither It Is Tending Seems Plain. If God Now Wills The Removal Of A Great Wrong, And Wills Also That We Of The North As Well As You Of The South, Shall Pay Fairly For Our Complicity In That Wrong, Impartial History Will Find Therein New Cause To Attest And Revere The Justice And Goodness Of God.
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Killing The Dog Does Not Cure The Bite.
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I Was Losing Interest In Politics, When The Repeal Of The Missouri Compromise Aroused Me Again. What I Have Done Since Then Is Pretty Well Known.
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Done
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The Man Who Stands By And Says Nothing, When The Peril Of His Government Is Discussed, Can Not Be Misunderstood. If Not Hindered, He Is Sure To Help The Enemy.
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As A Nation, We Began By Declaring That 'all Men Are Created Equal.' We Now Practically Read It 'all Men Are Created Equal, Except Negroes.' When The Know-nothings Get Control, It Will Read 'all Men Are Created Equal, Except Negroes, And Foreigners, And Catholics.' When It Comes To This I Should Prefer Emigrating To Some Country Where They Make No Pretense Of Loving Liberty – To Russia, For Instance, Where Despotism Can Be Taken Pure, And Without The Base Alloy Of Hypocrisy.
Country
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Honor To The Soldier And Sailor Everywhere, Who Bravely Bears His Country's Cause. Honor, Also, To The Citizen Who Cares For His Brother In The Field And Serves, As He Best Can, The Same Cause.
Country
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Be Sure You Put Your Feet In The Right Place, Then Stand Firm.
Motivational
Inspiring
Feet
Everybody Likes A Compliment.
Life
President
Likes
God Bless The Methodist Church - Bless All The Churches - And Blessed Be God, Who, In This Our Great Trial, Giveth Us The Churches.
Religious
Blessed
Church
Teach The Children So It Will Not Be Necessary To Teach The Adults.
Inspirational
Teacher
Children
No Organic Law Can Ever Be Framed With A Provision Specifically Applicable To Every Question Which May Occur In Practical Administration. .. No Foresight Can Anticipate Nor Any Document Of Reasonable Length Contain Express Provisions For All Possible Questions.
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May
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My Old Father Used To Have A Saying: If You Make A Bad Bargain, Hug It All The Tighter.
Money
Father
Hug
Think Of Strangers As Friends You Not Met Yet.
Thinking
Stranger
Mets
One Is A Majority If He Is Right.
Majority
Ifs
As Long As The Almighty Permitted Intelligent Men, Created In His Image And Likeness, To Fight In Public And Kill Each Other While The World Looks On Approvingly, It's Not For Me To Deprive The Chickens Of The Same Privilege.
Fighting
Intelligent
Men
I Am Very Glad Indeed To See You To-night, And Yet I Will Not Say I Thank You For This Call, But I Do Most Sincerely Thank Almighty God For The Occasion On Which You Have Called.
Religious
Night
Almighty
We Know, Southern Men Declare That Their Slaves Are Better Off Than Hired Laborers Amongst Us. How Little They Know, Whereof They Speak! There Is No Permanent Class Of Hired Laborers Amongst Us. Twenty-five Years Ago, I Was A Hired Laborer. The Hired Laborer Of Yesterday, Labors On His Own Account Today; And Will Hire Others To Labor For Him Tomorrow.
Men
Years
Class
It Has Been Said Of The World's History Hitherto That Might Makes Right. It Is For Us And For Our Time To Reverse The Maxim, And To Say That Right Makes Might.
Inspirational
World
Might
I Have Never Had A Feeling, Politically, That Did Not Spring From The Declaration Of Independence That All Should Have An Equal Chance. This Is The Sentiment Embodied In The Declaration Of Independence, I Would Rather Be Assassinated On This Spot Than Surrender It.
Freedom
Spring
Should Have
If You Are Going To Fight, Don't Let Them Talk You Into Negotiating. But, If You Are Going To Negotiate, Don't Let Them Talk You Into Fighting.
Fighting
Negotiating
Ifs
Let Us Renew Our Trust In God, And Go Forward Without Fear.
Trust In God
Guile
Respectability
Some Single Mind Must Be Master, Else There Will Be No Agreement In Anything.
Agreement
Mind
Single Relationship
When I Have A Particular Case In Hand, I Have That Motive And Feel An Interest In The Case, Feel An Interest In Ferreting Out The Questions To The Bottom, Love To Dig Up The Question By The Roots And Hold It Up And Dry It Before The Fires Of The Mind.
Hands
Law
Roots
God Can Not Be For, And Against The Same Thing At The Same Time.
God
Civil War
Divine Will
With The Catching Ends The Pleasure Of The Chase.
Love
Pleasure
Ends
I Have Always Wanted To Deal With Everyone I Meet Candidly And Honestly. If I Have Made Any Assertion Not Warranted By Facts, And It Is Pointed Out To Me, I Will Withdraw It Cheerfully.
Honesty
Facts
Made
I Have Been Driven Many Times Upon My Knees By The Overwhelming Conviction That I Had No Where Else To Go. My Own Wisdom And That Of All About Me Seemed Insufficient For That Day.
Motivational
Faith
Attitude
Our Common Country Is In Great Peril, Demanding The Loftiest Views, And Boldest Action To Bring It Speedy Relief. Once Relieved, Its Form Of Government Is Saved To The World; Its Beloved History, And Cherished Memories, Are Vindicated; And Its Happy Future Fully Assured, And Rendered Inconceivably Grand.
Country
Memories
Government
A New Book Is Like A Friend That I Have Yet To Meet
Education
Book
Reading
It Is Easiest To "be All Things To All Men," But It Is Not Honest. Self-respect Must Be Sacrificed Every Hour In The Day.
Men
Self
Hours In The Day
Whereas, The Senate Of The United States, Devoutly Recognizing The Supreme Authority And Just Government Of Almighty God, In All The Affairs Of Men And Of Nations, Has, By A Resolution, Requested The President To Designate And Set Apart A Day For National Prayer And Humiliation.
Bible
God
Religious
Destroy Your Enemy By Making Him Your Friend.
Enemy
Powerful Life Changing
If Any Man Tells You He Loves America, Yet Hates Labor, He Is A Liar. If Any Man Tells You He Trusts America, Yet Fears Labor, He Is A Fool.
Trust
Hate
Liars
I Can Hardly Believe That The South And North Can Live In Peace, Unless We Can Get Rid Of The Negroes ... I Believe That It Would Be Better To Export Them All To Some Fertile Country With A Good Climate, Which They Could Have To Themselves.
Country
Believe
Climate
The People Know Their Rights, And They Are Never Slow To Assert And Maintain Them, When They Are Invaded.
Rights
People
Knows
I Sincerely Wish War Was A Pleasanter And Easier Business Than It Is, But It Does Not Admit Of Holidays.
War
Holiday
Wish
May The Almighty Grant That The Cause Of Truth, Justice, And Humanity, Shall In No Wise Suffer At My Hands.
Wise
Hands
Justice
Slavery Is Founded In The Selfishness Of Man's Nature - Opposition To It Is His Love Of Justice. These Principles Are An Eternal Antagonism; And When Brought Into Collision So Fiercely, As Slavery Extension Brings Them, Shocks And Throes And Convulsions Must Ceaselessly Follow.
Men
Justice
Selfishness
The Legalized Liquor Business Is The Tragedy Of Our Civilization. Alcohol Is The Greatest And Most Blighting Curse Of Our Modern Civilization. The Liquor Seller Is Simply And Only A Privileged Malefactor - A Criminal.
Civilization
Alcohol
Tragedy
How Many Times Have I Laughed At You Telling Me Plainly That I Was Too Lazy To Be Anything But A Lawyer.
Law
Lazy
Lawyer
You Cannot Fail Unless You Quit.
Inspirational
Karma
Quitting
There Is Really No Crisis Except An Artificial One...if The Great American People Will Only Keep Their Temper, On Both Sides Of The Line, The Trouble Will Come To An End.
War
People
Sides
Weakness Is What Keeps Driving Us To God, By The Overwhelming Conviction That There Just Isn't Anywhere Else To Go.
Weakness
Driving
Conviction
America Will Never Be Destroyed From The Outside. If We Falter And Lose Our Freedoms, It Will Be Because We Destroyed Ourselves.
Wisdom
Religious
Freedom
I Am Approached With The Most Opposite Opinions And Advice, And That By Religious Men, Who Are Equally Certain That They Represent The Divine Will. ... I Hope It Will Not Be Irreverent For Me To Say That If It Is Probable That God Would Reveal His Will To Others, On A Point So Connected With My Duty, It Might Be Supposed He Would Reveal It Directly To Me... These Are Not, However, The Days Of Miracles ... I Must Study The Plain Physical Facts Of The Case, Ascertain What Is Possible, And Learn What Appears To Be Wise And Right.
Wise
Religious
Men
A Noble Spirit Embiggens The Smallest Man.
Men
Noble
Spirit
I Think That One Of The Causes Of These Repeated Failures Is That Our Best And Greatest Men Have Greatly Underestimated The Size Of This Question (slavery). They Have Constantly Brought Forward Small Cures For Great Sores-plasters Too Small To Cover The Wound. That Is One Reason That All Settlements Have Proved So Temporary-so Evanescent.
Men
Thinking
Slavery
We Will Make Converts Day By Day; We Will Grow Strong By The Violence And Injustice Of Our Adversaries. And, Unless Truth Be A Mockery And Justice A Hollow Lie, We Will Be In The Majority After A While.
Strong
Lying
Justice
It Is My Pleasure That My Children Are Free And Happy, And Unrestrained By Parental Tyranny. Love Is The Chain Whereby To Bind A Child To Its Parents.
Children
Father
Parenting
In The Early Days Of The World, The Almighty Said To The First Of Our Race "in The Sweat Of Thy Face Shalt Thou Eat Bread"; And Since Then, If We Except The Light And The Air Of Heaven, No Good Thing Has Been, Or Can Be Enjoyed By Us, Without Having First Cost Labour.
Work
Sweat
Light
I Am A Little Uneasy About The Abolishment Of Slavery In This District Of Columbia.
War
Slavery
Littles
These Capitalists Generally Act Harmoniously And In Concert, To Fleece The People.
Wisdom
Live Concerts
People
Everybody Likes Compliment.
Likes
Compliment
Repeal The Missouri Compromise - Repeal All Compromises - Repeal The Declaration Of Independence - Repeal All Past History, You Still Can Not Repeal Human Nature. It Still Will Be The Abundance Of Man's Heart, That Slavery Extension Is Wrong; And Out Of The Abundance Of His Heart, His Mouth Will Continue To Speak.
Change
Heart
Past
I Always [or "often"] Walk Slowly, But I Never Walk Backwards.
Walks
Backwards
I Was Born Feb. 12, 1809, In Hardin County, Kentucky. My Parents Were Both Born In Virginia, Of Undistinguished Families--second Families, Perhaps I Should Say. My Mother, Who Died In My Tenth Year, Was Of A Family Of The Name Of Hanks.... My Father ... Removed From Kentucky To ... Indiana, In My Eighth Year.... It Was A Wild Region, With Many Bears And Other Wild Animals Still In The Woods. There I Grew Up.... Of Course When I Came Of Age I Did Not Know Much. Still Somehow, I Could Read, Write, And Cipher ... But That Was All.
Mother
Father
Writing
Character Is Like A Tree, And Reputation Is Like Its Shadow.
Character
Tree
Shadow
When I Am Getting Ready To Reason With A Man, I Spend One-third Of My Time Thinking About Myself And What I Am Going To Say And Two-thirds About Him And What He Is Going To Say.
Motivational
Time
Men
Cortissoz Was Art Critic Of The New York Herald Tribune.
Art
New York
Critics
The Purposes Of The Almighty Are Perfect, And Must Prevail, Though We Erring Mortals May Fail To Accurately Perceive Them In Advance.
Perfect
Purpose
May
This Is Essentially A People's Contest... Whose Leading Object Is To Elevate The Condition Of Men - To Lift Artificial Weights From All Shoulders - To Clear The Paths Of Laudable Pursuit For All - To Afford All, An Unfettered Start And A Fair Chance, In The Race Of Life.
Men
Race
People
We Trust, Sir, That God Is On Our Side. It Is More Important To Know That We Are On God's Side.
Life
Humor
Important
The Best Thing About The Future Is That It Comes One Day At A Time.
Inspirational
Funny
Life
When Any Church Will Inscribe Over Its Altar, As Its Sole Qualification For Membership, The Savior's Condensed Statement Of The Substance Of Both Law And Gospel, 'thou Shalt Love The Lord Thy God With All Thy Heart, And With All Thy Soul And Thy Neighbor As Thyself' That Church Will I Join With All My Heart And All My Soul.
Religious
Patriotic
Heart
Let Not Him Who Is Houseless Pull Down The House Of Another, But Let Him Work Diligently And Build One For Himself, Thus By Example Assuring That His Own Shall Be Safe From Violence When Built.
Motivational
Work
Safety
What Are You Gonna Do For A Face When The Baboon Wants His Ass Back?
Success
Want
Faces
I Am Satisfied That When The Almighty Wants Me To Do Or Not Do Any Particular Thing, He Finds A Way Of Letting Me Know It
Way
Want
Almighty
Let Us Strive On To Finish The Work We Are In.
Motivational
Civil War
Charity
Fondly Do We Hope, Ferverently Do We Pray, That This Mighty Scourge Of War May Speedily Pass Away.
Peace
War
Ubuntu
Prosperity Is The Fruit Of Labor. It Begins With Saving Money.
Saving
Fruit
Prosperity
Remembering That Peter Denied His Lord With An Oath, After Most Solemnly Protesting That He Never Would, I Will Not Swear I Will Make No Committals; But I Do Think I Will Not.
Religious
Thinking
Remember
The Bible Is Not My Book Nor Christianity My Profession. I Could Never Give Assent To The Long, Complicated Statements Of Christian Dogma.
Bible
Christian
Religious
We Must Free The Slaves Or Be Ourselves Subdued.
Slavery
Slave
Too Many Piglets Not Enough Tits.
Stupidity
Piglet
Enough
I Think The Authors Of That Notable Instrument [the Declaration Of Independence] Intended To Include All Men.
Men
Thinking
Equality
May Our Children And Our Children's Children To A Thousand Generations, Continue To Enjoy The Benefits Conferred Upon Us By A United Country, And Have Cause Yet To Rejoice Under Those Glorious Institutions Bequeathed Us By Washington And His Compeers.
Country
Children
Generations
With Firmness In The Right, As God Gives Us To See The Right.
Military
Giving
Civil War
You Are Young, And I Am Older; You Are Hopeful, I Am Not- Enjoy Life, Ere It Grow Colder- Pluck The Roses Ere They Rot.
Rose
Hopeful
Enjoy Life
A Drop Of Honey Catches More Flies Than A Gallon Of Gall. So With Men. If You Would Win A Man To Your Cause, First Convince Him That You Are His Sincere Friend. Therein Is A Drop Of Honey Which Catches His Heart, Which, Say What He Will, Is The Highroad To His Reason.
Friendship
Heart
Winning
The Us Patent System Adds The Fuel Of Interest To The Fire Of Genius In The Discovery And Production Of New And Useful Things
Fire
Discovery
Patents
There Is Another Old Poet Whose Name I Do Not Now Remember Who Said, 'truth Is The Daughter Of Time.'
Daughter
Mother
Truth
Continue To Execute All The Express Provisions Of Our National Constitution, And The Union Will Endure Forever-it Being Impossible To Destroy It, Except By Some Action Not Provided For In The Instrument Itself.
Forever
Unions
Action
The Constitution Is Not A Suicide Pact.
Suicide
Constitution
Pact
Let Us Diligently Apply The Means, Never Doubting That A Just God, In His Own Good Time, Will Give Us The Rightful Result.
Religious
Mean
Giving
It Is Not Our Frowning Battlements...or The Strength Our Gallant And Disciplined Army? These Are Not Our Reliance Against A Resumption Of Tyranny In Our Fair Land... Our Defense Is In The Preservation Of The Spirit Which Prizes Liberty As The Heritage Of All Men, In All Lands, Everywhere.
Army
Men
Land
We Can Not Have Free Government Without Elections; And If The Rebellion Could Force Us To Forego, Or Postpone A National Election It Might Fairly Claim To Have Already Conquered And Ruined Us.
Government
Might
Election
It Is The Eternal Struggle Between These Two Principles - Right And Wrong. They Are The Two Principles That Have Stood Face To Face From The Beginning Of Time And Will Ever Continue To Struggle. It Is The Same Spirit That Says, "you Work And Toil And Earn Bread, And I'll Eat It."
Struggle
Two
Toil
With Malice Towards None; With Charity For All.
Anger
Charity
Malice
I Am Much Indebted To The Good Christian People Of The Country For Their Constant Prayers And Consolations; And To No One Of Them, More Than To Yourself.
Christian
Country
Prayer
All That Serves Labor Serves The Nation. All ^ That Harms Labor Is Treason To America. No Line Can Be Drawn Between These Two. If Any Man Tells You He Loves America, Yet Hates Labor, He Is A Liar. If Any Man Tells You He Trusts America, Yet Fears Labor, He Is A Fool. There Is No America Without Labor, And To Fleece The One Is To Rob The Other.
Liars
Hate
Men
Let Every Man Remember That To Violate The Law, Is To Trample On The Blood Of His Father, And To Tear The Character Of His Own, And His Children's Liberty.
Children
Father
Character
If A Man Will Stand Up And Assert, And Repeat And Re-assert, That Two And Two Do Not Make Four, I Know Nothing In The Power Of Argument That Can Stop Him.
Men
Two
Four
Again, A Law May Be Both Constitutional And Expedient, And Yet May Be Administered In An Unjust And Unfair Way.
Law
Unjust
May
On The Whole, My Impression Is That Mercy Bears Richer Fruits Than Any Other Attribute.
Forgiveness
Fruit
Bears
Those Who Are Ready To Sacrifice Freedom For Security Ultimately Will Lose Both.
Sacrifice
Progressive
Ready
The World Shall Know That I Will Keep My Faith To Friends And Enemies, Come What Will.
Enemy
World
Friends And Enemies
Offering Thanks In The Midst Of Tragedy Is An American Tradition, . Even During A Bloody Civil War.
War
Offering
Civilization
I Laugh Because I Must Not Cry, That Is All, That Is All.
Hope
Laughter
Laughing
We Have Been Preserved, These Many Years, In Peace And Prosperity. We Have Grown In Numbers, Wealth And Power, As No Other Nation Has Ever Grown. But We Have Forgotten God. We Have Forgotten The Gracious Hand Which Preserved Us In Peace, And Multiplied And Enriched And Strengthened Us; And We Have Vainly Imagined, In The Deceitfulness Of Our Hearts, That All These Blessings Were Produced By Some Superior Wisdom And Virtue Of Our Own. Intoxicated With Unbroken Success, We Have Become Too Self Sufficient To Feel The Necessity Of Redeeming And Preserving Grace, Too Proud To Pray To The God That Made Us!
Freedom
Humility
Heart
You Think Slavery Is Right And Ought To Be Extended; While We Think It Is Wrong And Ought To Be Restricted. That I Suppose Is The Rub. It Certainly Is The Only Substantial Difference Between Us.
Thinking
Differences
Civil War
As The Patriots Of Seventy-six Did To The Support Of The Declaration Of Independence, So To The Support Of The Constitution And Laws, Let Every American Pledge His Life, His Property, And His Sacred Honor;-let Every Man Remember That To Violate The Law, Is To Trample On The Blood Of His Father, And To Tear The Character Of His Own, And His Children's Liberty.
Children
Father
Character
I Do Not Deny The Possibility That The People May Err In An Election; But If They Do, The True [cure] Is In The Next Election, And Not In The Treachery Of The Person Elected.
People
May
Next
The Matter Of Fees Is Important, Far Beyond The Mere Question Of Bread And Butter Involved. Properly Attended To, Fuller Justice Is Done To Both Lawyer And Client.
Justice
Important
Done
Slavery Is Wrong. If Slavery Is Right, All Words, Acts, Laws, And Constitutions Against It, Are Themselves Wrong, And Should Be Silenced, And Swept Away.
Law
Slavery
Constitution
Every Man Has A Right To Be Equal With Every Other Man.
Men
Civil War
Equal
Rules Of Living Don't Worry, Eat Three Square Meals A Day,say Your Prayers, Be Courteous To Your Creditors, Keep Your Digestion Good,steer Clear Of Biliousness,exercise, Go Slow And Go Easy. May Be There Are Other Things That Your Special Case Requires To Make You Happy, But My Friend, These, I Reckon, Will Give You A Good Life.
Inspirational
Good Life
Prayer
Better To Remain Silent And Thought A Fool, Than To Speak Out And Confirm That You Didn't Do The Assigned Readings Before The Strategic Planning Retreat.
Reading
Speaks Out
Fool
I Do But Quote From One Of Those Speeches When I Declare That "i Have No Purpose, Directly Or Indirectly, To Interfere With The Institution Of Slavery In The States Where It Exists. I Believe I Have No Lawful Right To Do So, And I Have No Inclination To Do So."
Believe
Purpose
Slavery
It Is Bad To Be Poor. I Shall Go To The Wall For Bread And Meat, If I Neglect My Business This Year As Well As Last.
Wall
Years
Meat
Anxiety Beclouds The Future.
Anxiety
Anticipation
I Have Endured A Great Deal Of Ridicule Without Much Malice; And Have Received A Great Deal Of Kindness, Not Quite Free From Ridicule. I Am Used To It.
Courage
Kindness
Used
I Am Struggling To Maintain The Government, Not To Overthrow It. I Am Struggling Especially To Prevent Others From Overthrowing It.
Struggle
Government
Life Struggle
When Met With A Problem I Always Ask Myself What Is The Right Thing To Do And Then I Do It.
Problem
Mets
Things To Do
The Plainest Print Cannot Be Read Through A Gold Eagle.
Money
Eagles
Gold
Nothing Is More Damaging To You Than To Do Something That You Believe Is Wrong.
Believe
Discourage Litigation. Persuade Your Neighbors To Compromise Whenever You Can.
Neighbors And Friends
Neighbors Friends
Lawyer
The President Is The Cube Of Ice One Places In The Pot Of A Houseplant, Providing A Steady Amount Of Nourishment Over The Course Of A Hot Day. A Good Description Of The Job And Also A Fantastic Bit Of Practical Household Advice.
Jobs
Ice
President
When I Left Springfield [to Become President] I Asked The People To Pray For Me. I Was Not A Christian. When I Buried My Son, The Severest Trial Of My Life, I Was Not A Christian. But When I Went To Gettysburg And Saw The Graves Of Thousands Of Our Soldiers, I Then And There Consecrated Myself To Christ.
Christian
Son
People
A Man Has Not The Time To Spend Half His Life In Quarrels. If Any Man Ceases To Attack Me, I Never Remember The Past Against Him.
Past
Men
Half
The Very Spot Where Grew The Bread That Formed My Bones, I See. How Strange, Old Field, On Thee To Tread, And Feel I'm Part Of Thee.
Fields
Bread
Strange
There Was The Strangest Combination Of Church Influence Against Me. Baker Is A Campbellite; And Therefore, As I Suppose With Few Exceptions, Got All Of That Church. My Wife Had Some Relations In The Presbyterian Churches, And Some In The Episcopal Churches; And Therefore, Wherever It Would Tell, I Was Set Down As Either One Or The Other, While It Was Everywhere Contended That No Christian Ought To Vote For Me Because I Belonged To No Church, And Was Suspected Of Being A Deist And Had Talked Of Fighting A Duel.
Christian
Fighting
Wife
Committee: A Group Which Succeeds In Getting Something Done Only When It Consists Of Three Members, One Of Whom Happens To Be Sick And Another Absent.
Sick
Succeed
Groups
If Both Factions, Or Neither, Shall Abuse You, You Will Probably Be About Right. Beware Of Being Assailed By One And Praised By The Other.
Abuse
Factions
Ifs
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