林肯

亞伯拉罕·林肯

簡介

亞伯拉罕·林肯（Abraham Lincoln，1809年2月12日－1865年4月15日），美國政治家，第16任總統（任期：1861年3月4日－1865年4月15日），在最偉大總統排名中林肯名列第一，也是首位共和黨籍總統。身高6呎4吋（193公分），和林登·詹森是美國歷任總統中最高的。在其總統任內，美國爆發內戰，史稱南北戰爭。林肯廢除了南方各州的奴隸制度，但南北戰爭之後北方有幾個支持聯邦政府的州卻仍被林肯允許可繼續保有奴隸制度。林肯擊敗了南方分離勢力，維護了國家的統一。內戰結束後不久，林肯遇刺身亡。他是第一個遭到刺殺的美國總統。他領導了美國南北戰爭，頒布了“解放黑人奴隸宣言”，維護了美聯邦統一，為美國在19世紀躍居世界頭號工業強國開闢了道路，使美國進入經濟發展的黃金時代，被稱為“偉大的解放者“。


生平


1809年2月12日，林肯出生在肯塔基州哈丁縣一個清貧的鞋匠家庭，用他自己的話說，他的童年是“一部貧窮的簡明編年史”。小時候，他幫助家裡搬柴，提水，做農活等。父母是英國移民的後裔，他們以種田和打獵為生。1816年，林肯全家遷至印第安納州西南部，開荒種地為生。9歲的時候，林肯的母親就去世了。
一年後，父親與一位寡婦結婚。繼母慈祥勤勞，對待前妻的子女如同己出。林肯也敬愛繼母，一家人生活得和睦幸福。由於家境貧窮，林肯受教育的程度不高，為了維持家計，少年時的林肯當過俄亥俄河上的擺渡工，種植園的工人，店員和木工。18歲那年，身材高大（1.93米）的林肯為一個船主所僱傭，與人同乘一條平底駁船順俄亥俄河而下，航行千里到達奧爾良。

在25歲以前，林肯沒有固定的職業，四處謀生。成年後，他成為一名當地土地測繪員，因精通測量和計算，常被人們請去解決地界糾紛，在艱苦的勞作之餘，林肯始終是一個熱愛讀書的青年，他夜讀的燈火總要閃爍到很晚很晚。在青年時代，林肯通讀了莎士比亞的全部著作，讀了“美國歷史”，還讀了許多歷史和文學書籍，他通過自學使自己成為一個博學而充滿智慧的人，在一場政治集會上他第一次發表了政治演說。由於抨擊黑奴制，提出一些有利於公眾事業的建議，林肯在公眾中有了影響，加上他具有傑出的人品，1832年他被選為州議員。

兩年後，林肯通過自學成為一名律師，不久又成為州議會輝格黨領袖。1834年8月，25歲的林肯當選為州議員開始了自己的政治生涯同時管理鄉間郵政所，也從事土地測量，並在友人的幫助下鑽研法律。幾年後，他成為一名律師。1841年他與人合夥的律師事務所在伊利諾州首府春田市開張。

積累了州議員的經驗之後，1846年，他當選為美國眾議員，1847年，林肯作為輝格黨的代表，參加了國會議員的競選，獲得了成功，第一次來到首都華盛頓，在此前後，關於奴隸制度的爭論，成了美國政治生活中的大事，在這場爭論中，林肯逐漸成為反對蓄奴主義者，他認為奴隸制度最終應歸於消滅，首先應該在首都華盛頓取消奴隸制。代表南方種植園主利益的蓄奴主義者則瘋狂地反對林肯，1850年，美國的奴隸主勢力大增，林肯退出國會，繼續當律師。

1850年代，鐵路與河運公司之間爆發法律訴訟，林肯代表鐵路公司在州最高法院贏得了官司。1858年的一場謀殺案訴訟中，控方證人聲稱在月光下看到被告面孔；作為辯方律師，林肯使用「司法公告」方式——即以生活常識作為證據而無須提供其他人證、物證，成功地證明了：在證人聲稱的時刻，根據日曆月亮剛出現在地平線上，證人不可能利用月光分辨出人的面孔，因此控方證據被推翻。這種辯護方式在當時甚為罕見，林肯遂以此案聞名全國。

1860年，林肯成為共和黨的總統候選人，11月，選舉揭曉，以200萬票當選為美國第16任總統，但在奴隸主控制的南部10個州，他沒有得到1張選票。
1860年，林肯當選為美國總統​​。林肯的當選，對南方種植園主的利益構成嚴重威脅，他們當然不願意一個主張廢除奴隸制的人當總統。為了重新奪回他們長期控制的國家領導權，他們在林肯就職之前就發動了叛亂，1860年12月，南方的南卡羅來納州首先宣布脫離聯邦而獨立，接著密西西比，佛羅里達等蓄奴州也相繼脫離聯邦
在1860年的總統大選過程中，隨著林肯當選的可能性越來越大，南部的分離主義者開始謀求脫離聯邦。1860年冬，南部七個產棉州南卡羅萊那、喬治亞、阿拉巴馬、路易西安納、密西西比和德克薩斯透過公民投票同意宣布成立美利堅聯盟國(Confederate States of America，或稱「邦聯」），但是時任總統的詹姆斯·布坎南和候任總統林肯均拒絕承認邦聯。當林肯宣誓就職時，邦聯已是既成事實，分離州拒絕以任何條件返回聯邦。

1861年2月，他們宣布成立一個“美利堅邦聯”，推舉大種植園主杰弗遜戴維斯為總統，還制定了“憲法”，宣布黑人奴隸制是南方聯盟的立國基礎：“黑人不能和白人平等，黑人奴隸勞動是自然的，正常的狀態。”

1861年4月12日，南卡羅萊那軍隊進攻聯邦軍隊在本州駐紮的桑特要塞，打響了南北戰爭的第一槍。林肯立即召集了州長會議，派遣75,000人的部隊收復要塞。隨後，原保持中立的維珍尼亞、北卡羅萊那、田納西、阿肯色倒向邦聯。南方聯盟不宣而戰，迅速攻占了聯邦政府軍駐守的薩姆特要塞，林肯不得不宣布對南方作戰。林肯本人並不主張用過激的方式廢除奴隸制，他認為可以用和平的方式，先限制奴隸制，然後逐步加以廢除，而關鍵是維護聯邦的統一。在這種思想的支配下，北方政府根本沒有進行戰爭的準備，只是倉促應戰，而南方則是蓄謀已久，有優良的裝備和訓練有素的軍隊，所以，儘管北方在多方面都佔有優勢，還是被南方打得節節敗退，連首都華盛頓也險些被叛軍攻破。北方在戰場上的失利引起了廣大人民的強烈不滿，許多城市爆發了示威遊行，要求政府採取措施扭轉戰局。這時林肯才意識到，要想打贏這場戰爭，就必須調動農民的積極性，廢除奴隸制，解放黑奴。

1862年5月，國會通過釋放所有奴隸的《第二充公法案》(Second Confiscation Act)，但並未從憲法上廢除奴隸制度。該法案的目的是打擊奴隸主控制的叛亂州。林肯反對奴隸制度，認為它在道德上是邪惡的，與《獨立宣言》中「人生而平等」的原則相矛盾。在南方邦聯州脫離之前，林肯只是反對將奴隸制度擴展到新納入聯邦的疆域，這是在聯邦立法機構權力範圍之內的事宜。但國會並沒有憲法的授權去廢除在南方各州業已存在的奴隸制度。因此，在1861到1862年間，林肯聲稱北方是為維護聯邦而戰。廢奴主義者對他的立場持批評態度。林肯簽署了“宅地法”，規定每個美國公民只交納 10美元登記費，便能在西部得160英畝土地，連續耕種 5年之後就成為這塊土地的合法主人，這一措施從根本上消除了南方奴隸主奪取西部土地的可能性，同時也滿足了廣大農民的迫切要求，大大激發了農民奮勇參戰的積極性，1862年9月，林肯又親自起草了“解放黑人奴隸宣言“草案。
1862年9月22日正式頒布”解放黑奴宣言“，宣布即日起廢除叛亂各州的奴隸制，解放的黑奴可以應召參加聯邦軍隊。宣布黑奴獲得自由，從根本上瓦解了叛軍的戰鬥力，也使北軍得到雄厚的兵源。內戰期間，直接參戰的黑人達到 18.6萬人，他們作戰非常勇敢，平均每三個黑人中就有一人為解放事業獻出了生命。1863年提出“民有，民治，民享”的綱領性口號，從而使戰爭成為群眾性的革命鬥爭。這兩個法令的頒布是南北戰爭（內戰）的轉折點，戰場上的形勢變得對北方越來越有利了。
1863年7月1日到3日，雙方在華盛頓以北的葛底斯堡展開了內戰以來規模最大的一次戰鬥。雙方激戰了三天三夜，北軍重創南軍，使南軍損失了3.6萬人，從此北軍開始進入反攻，而南軍只有防守了。

這年的7月4日，北軍又在維克斯堡大獲全勝。維克斯堡位於密西西比河上，是一個高出水面200英尺的懸崖，據守懸崖的叛軍居高臨下，可以用炮火直接威脅河上來往的船隻，如果從下面攻打這個要塞非常困難。早在1862年末，格蘭特就率軍在海軍的協助下幾次攻打這個要塞，但都沒成功。1863年4月，格蘭特實行了新的進攻計劃，先摧毀了要塞周圍的各個據點，然後包圍了維克斯堡。海軍也來助戰，從陸地和水上同時進攻，猛烈砲擊要塞，震耳欲聾的炮聲一直響了47天之久，7月4日，困守要塞的叛軍彈盡糧絕，被迫投降，北軍這一次俘虜叛軍 2.9萬人。緊接著，北方軍隊以秋風掃落葉之勢，迅猛追擊叛軍，1865年4月3日攻占了叛軍首都里士滿 4月9日，叛軍總司令羅伯特李率殘部 2.8萬人在阿波馬托克斯小村向格蘭特投降。歷時四年的南北戰爭以北方的勝利而告終。

南北戰爭被稱為繼獨立戰爭之後的美國第二次資產階級革命。林肯成為黑人解放的象徵，但奴隸主卻對他萬分仇恨。由於亞伯拉罕林肯的卓越功績，1864年11月8日他再次當選為美國總統​​。然而，還沒等林肯把他的戰後政策付諸實施，悲劇發生了。1865年4月14日晚10時15分，就在南方軍隊投降後第5天，林肯在華盛頓福特劇院遇刺。約翰威爾克斯布斯（Jogh威爾克斯展位）已經在磨刀霍霍了。布斯出身於美國戲劇界名門之後，他高超的演技一直是女性戲迷追逐的對象。但是布斯人在戲行，心憂國家，他在政見上毫不含糊，一個堅定的南部聯邦的極力支持者。內戰期間，布斯就糾合了一群人暗中活動，這些人包括他的兒時好友米切爾奧勞夫林和薩姆阿諾德;馬里蘭州一個製造馬車的喬治阿茨羅德，23歲的藥店員工大衛赫羅爾德;前南部聯邦戰士路易斯鮑威爾，還有一個曾經為叛軍提供過情報的約翰薩拉特，這個組織曾經在華盛頓的一所公寓密謀了綁架林肯以交換南部被俘戰士的計劃，但這些計劃都像其他許多陰謀一樣，毫無結果。

林肯被刺的前兩三天，布斯幾乎天天酩酊大醉，他以前的那個陰謀組織支離破碎，只剩下佩因，赫羅爾德和阿茨羅德了4月14日中午時分，他去福特劇院取郵件，無意中看到海報上說​​，林肯和格蘭特將出席晚上的節日，布斯一陣狂喜，立即召集死黨實施他們的最後計劃：阿茨羅德去刺殺副總統約翰遜，佩因和赫羅爾德去刺殺日漸康復的國務卿西華德，布斯自己去刺殺總統。事情進展得並不順利：阿茨羅德喝醉了酒臨陣退縮，根本沒有去刺殺約翰遜。佩因和赫羅爾德倒進行得不錯，他們摸到了西華德家外面，由赫羅爾德守在馬車上接應，佩因直接進了西華德家，他拿著一包藥，這也是早就策劃好的。西華德的兒子告訴佩因，他的父親正在睡覺，現在還不能吃藥，但是佩因堅持要送藥進去，小西華德感到此人不可理喻，命令他立即滾蛋。由於害怕被看穿陰謀，佩因立即掏出了手槍，對準小西華德的頭部就是一下，幸好子彈不知咋的，瞎火了。佩因趕緊握緊槍，用槍托猛砸小西華德的頭，可憐的小西華德頭骨被打裂了。掃除了門外的障礙，佩因從包裹裡抽出一把大刀衝進了西華德黑暗的臥室，這時他才發現臥室裡除了西華德還有西華德的女兒和一個男護士，男護士見勢不妙，立即跳將起來衝向佩因，佩因掄起大刀就把他的前額砍破了，而西華德的女兒在驚嚇之餘也被佩因打暈了過去。佩因衝到西華德的床邊，一刀一刀地猛刺國務卿。這時，西華德的另一個兒子聽到聲響也衝了進來，不料被手持凶器的佩因在前額劃了一刀，並且砍傷了手。佩因感到此地不宜久留，於是迅速離開臥室，跳下樓梯，在樓梯上他又撞見了一個倒霉的國務院信使，佩因一不做，二不休，把這信使又砍傷了。直到逃到大門前，狂奔的佩因不停地尖叫：“我瘋了！我瘋了！”令人不可思議的是，所有遭到佩因襲擊的人最後都康復了，而且西華德在林肯死後的約翰遜總統任期裡還繼續做他的國務卿。

話題轉到布斯那邊，布斯於晚上10點平靜地進入了總統的包廂。本來包廂是有個鎖的，但這鎖在幾天前就壞了，也沒有人報告此事。由於布斯本來是個演員，所以警衛總統的人都沒有為難他。警察約翰派克本來應該是守在大廳通往包廂的必經之路上的，但是他對看戲毫無興趣，所以躲到另一個房間去喝酒去了。當布斯進入包廂後，他平靜地把槍瞄準了林肯的左耳和背脊之間 ... ...共開槍 8次，林肯被擊中 6次，其中5次擊中要害。然而1675名觀眾中，只有很少人聽見槍聲，甚至坐在旁邊的林肯夫人和幾個陪同看戲的人都沒有對槍聲太震驚。因為布斯選擇了戲劇的高潮處開槍，演員的大笑和槍聲混雜在一起是很難聽清的。接下來包廂裡一片混亂，布斯從包廂裡跳到舞台上，轉身向觀眾喊了句：“一切暴君都是這個下場。”這是弗吉尼亞州的名言。

1865年4月14日晚上，林肯在華盛頓的福特劇院（福特劇院）裡看戲時，被南方奴隸主收買的一個暴徒刺殺。林肯的不幸逝世引起了國內外的巨大轟動，美國人民深切哀悼他，有700多萬人停立在道路兩旁向出殯的行列致哀，有150萬人瞻仰了林肯的遺容。林肯是一位傑出的政治家，為推動美國社會向前發展做出了巨大貢獻，受到美國人民的崇敬，在美國人的心目中，他的威望甚至超過了華盛頓！

5月4日，林肯葬於橡樹嶺公墓。林肯領導美國人民維護了國家統一，廢除了奴隸制，為資本主義的發展掃除了障礙，促進了美國歷史的發展，一百多年來，受到美國人民的尊敬。由於林肯在美國歷史上所起的進步作用，人們稱讚他為“新時代國家統治者的楷模”。

亞伯拉罕林肯是美國第16任總統，是世界歷史中最偉大的人物之一，領導了拯救聯邦和結束奴隸制度的偉大鬥爭，人們懷念他的正直，仁慈，和堅強的個性，他一直是美國歷史上最受人景仰的總統之一。儘管他在邊疆只受過一點兒初級教育，擔任公職的經驗也很少，然而，他那敏銳的洞察力和深厚的人道主義意識，使他成了美國歷史上最偉大的總統。



大事年表

西元	事蹟
1809	2月12日出生在寂靜的荒野上的一座簡陋的小屋
1816	全家被趕出居住地，他必須工作以撫養他們
1818	10月15日，9歲，年僅35歲的母親南希漢克斯不幸去世
1824	開始上學
1827	自己製作了一艘擺渡船
1831	經商成功
1832	競選州議員，但失敗了，想進法學院學法律，但未獲入學資格，工作也丟了
1833	向朋友借錢經商，年底失敗，接下來還了16年，才把這筆錢還清
1834	再次競選州議員，當選
1835	訂婚後即將結婚時，未婚妻病逝，因此他的心也碎了
1836	精神完全崩潰，臥病在床6個月
1838	成功爭取成為州議員的發言人
1840	爭取成為被選舉人，失敗了
1841	當選國會議員
1843	參加國會大選，競選國會議員連任，成功
1846	再次參加國會大選，成功當選，前往華盛頓特區，表現可圈可點
1848	成功尋求國會議員連任
1849	在自己州內被入選為土地水長
1854	成功競選為參議員
1856	在共和黨全國代表大會上成為副總統提名人選
1858	再次成為參議員
1860	當選為美國總統
1861	南北戰爭爆發
1862	正式頒布”解放黑奴宣言“
1864	連任美國總統
1865	遭刺殺後與世長辭

名言語錄



事實上教育便是一種早期的習慣。

凡是不給別人自由的人，他們自己就不應該得到自由，而且在公正的上帝統治下，他們也是不能夠長遠地保持住自由的。

給別人自由和維護自己的自由，兩者同樣是崇高的事業

意志來自道德感和自身利益這兩個因素

我們關心的，不是你是否失敗了，而是你對失敗能否無怨

人生最美好的東西，就是他同別人的友誼

事實上教育便是一種早期的習慣

法律是顯露的道德，道德是隱藏的法律

事實上教育便是一種早期的習慣

好學的人必成大器

人生最美好的東西，就是他同別人的友誼

黃金誠然是寶貴的，但是生氣勃勃、勇敢的愛國者卻比黃金更為寶貴

給別人自由和維護自己的自由，兩者同樣是崇高的事業


卓越的天才不屑走一條人家走過的路。他尋找迄今沒有開拓過的地區。

預測未來最好的方法就是去創造未來。

與其跟一隻狗爭路，不如讓牠先行一步；如果被牠咬了一口，你即使把牠打死，也不能治好你的傷口。

性格猶如樹林，名聲猶如它的影子。影子是我們所思考的東西，樹就是那個東西。

民有、民治、民享
of the people, by the people, for the people

一個人過了四十歲，應當為自己的長相負責。

如果我有第二張臉，我還需要用現在這張嗎？

你可以在一時矇騙所有人，也可以在長時間矇騙一些人，但不可能在長時間矇騙所有的人。
You can fool all the people some of the time, some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

想了解一個人的個性，那就賦予他權力。

噴泉的高度不會超過它的源頭。一個人的事業也是如此，它的成就絕不會超過自己的信念。

消滅了敵人，也不能補償失去的朋友。

沒有一個人的記性，好到可以作個成功的說謊者。

我所需要的知識都在書裡面，誰為我找過我沒看過的書，便是我的好朋友。

我不是非要贏不可，但我一定不能錯，我不是非要成功不可，但我一定要遵從良知。

如果奴隸制度不是錯的話，就沒有什麼是錯誤的了，我這一生從來沒有這麼確信過我所做的這件事是正確的。


Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
幾乎所有的人都可以承受困境，但是如果你想要測試一個人的心性，給他權力。

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
你不能藉由今天的逃避，來逃脫明天的責任。

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.
我一直都發現到，寬恕會結出比嚴格執法更豐碩的果實。

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crises. The great point is to bring them the real facts.
我是一位對人民有堅定信心的人。如果給他們真相，他們可以面對任何國家的危機。最重要的一點是，給他們真正的事實。

我之所有，我之所能，都歸功於我天使般的母親

力量來自公正

殺了狗也治不好狗咬的傷

我這個人走得很慢，但是我從不後退

一個好的目標決不會因為慢慢來而落空

我的生活經驗使我深信，沒有缺點的人往往優點也很少

黃金誠然是寶貴的，但是生氣勃勃，勇敢的愛國者卻比黃金更為寶貴

事實上教育便是一種早期的習慣

意志來自道德感和自身利益這兩個因素

廢除黑奴制度雖然不是那麼容易，但追求愛情更難！

超過四十歲的人，在自己的臉上一定掛著責任感

何謂保守？就是過於恐懼而不敢戰
何謂保守？不就是因循守舊，反對新生事物嗎？

世上沒有卑賤的職業，只有卑賤的人

好漢不怕出身低

豆腐愛厚，臉皮愛薄

噴泉的高度不會超過它的源頭，一個人的事業也是這樣，他的成就決不會超過自己的信念

給別人自由和維護自己的自由，兩者同樣是崇高的事業

我們要想涵養公正的品德，就應養成一種“不苟”的優良習慣

品格如同樹木，名聲如同樹陰，我們常常考慮的是樹陰，卻不知樹木才是根本

我主要關心的，不是你是不是失敗了，而是你對失敗是不是甘心

卓越的天才不屑走一條人家走過的路，他尋找迄今沒有開拓過的地區

我要站到所有正確的人那一邊。正確時和他們在一起，錯誤時就離開他們

「每當我想要說服一個人時，我會花1/3時間思考自己應說甚麼，另外2/3時間用來計他會說甚麼。」…前美國總統林肯

A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have.
Abraham Lincoln

A house divided against itself cannot stand.
Abraham Lincoln

A woman is the only thing I am afraid of that I know will not hurt me.
Abraham Lincoln

All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.
Abraham Lincoln

All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind.
Abraham Lincoln

All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
Abraham Lincoln

Allow the president to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such a purpose - and you allow him to make war at pleasure.
Abraham Lincoln

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.
Abraham Lincoln

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.
Abraham Lincoln

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?
Abraham Lincoln

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Abraham Lincoln

And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
Abraham Lincoln

Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable - a most sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world.
Abraham Lincoln

As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.
Abraham Lincoln

As our case is new, we must think and act anew.
Abraham Lincoln

Avoid popularity if you would have peace.
Abraham Lincoln

Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets.
Abraham Lincoln

Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.
Abraham Lincoln

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
Abraham Lincoln

Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all.
Abraham Lincoln

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
Abraham Lincoln

Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
Abraham Lincoln

Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them.
Abraham Lincoln

Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.
Abraham Lincoln

Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will still be business enough.
Abraham Lincoln

Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.
Abraham Lincoln

Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.
Abraham Lincoln

Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem.
Abraham Lincoln

Every one desires to live long, but no one would be old.
Abraham Lincoln

Everybody likes a compliment.
Abraham Lincoln

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Abraham Lincoln

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
Abraham Lincoln

God must love the common man, he made so many of them.
Abraham Lincoln

Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.
Abraham Lincoln

He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.
Abraham Lincoln

He who molds the public sentiment... makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to make.
Abraham Lincoln

Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible.
Abraham Lincoln

How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
Abraham Lincoln

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.
Abraham Lincoln

I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.
Abraham Lincoln

I can make more generals, but horses cost money.
Abraham Lincoln

I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.
Abraham Lincoln

I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end... I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me.
Abraham Lincoln

I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.
Abraham Lincoln

I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.
Abraham Lincoln

I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.
Abraham Lincoln

I don't know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.
Abraham Lincoln

I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.
Abraham Lincoln

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.
Abraham Lincoln

I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.
Abraham Lincoln

I hope to stand firm enough to not go backward, and yet not go forward fast enough to wreck the country's cause.
Abraham Lincoln

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.
Abraham Lincoln

I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day.
Abraham Lincoln

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.
Abraham Lincoln

I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.
Abraham Lincoln

I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.
Abraham Lincoln

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.
Abraham Lincoln

I will prepare and some day my chance will come.
Abraham Lincoln

I'm a slow walker, but I never walk back.
Abraham Lincoln

If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my ax.
Abraham Lincoln

If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business.
Abraham Lincoln

If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?
Abraham Lincoln

If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow-citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem.
Abraham Lincoln

If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance.
Abraham Lincoln

If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.
Abraham Lincoln

If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it.
Abraham Lincoln

If you call a tail a leg, how many legs has a dog? Five? No, calling a tail a leg don't make it a leg.
Abraham Lincoln

If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.
Abraham Lincoln

Important principles may, and must, be inflexible.
Abraham Lincoln

In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong.
Abraham Lincoln

In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
Abraham Lincoln

It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.
Abraham Lincoln

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.
Abraham Lincoln

Knavery and flattery are blood relations.
Abraham Lincoln

Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.
Abraham Lincoln

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.
Abraham Lincoln

Lets have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.
Abraham Lincoln

Marriage is neither heaven nor hell, it is simply purgatory.
Abraham Lincoln

Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be.
Abraham Lincoln

Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.
Abraham Lincoln

My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.
Abraham Lincoln

My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.
Abraham Lincoln

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.
Abraham Lincoln

Never stir up litigation. A worse man can scarcely be found than one who does this.
Abraham Lincoln

No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.
Abraham Lincoln

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.
Abraham Lincoln

No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.
Abraham Lincoln

Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as a heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors.
Abraham Lincoln

People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.
Abraham Lincoln

Public opinion in this country is everything.
Abraham Lincoln

Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.
Abraham Lincoln

Republicans are for both the man and the dollar, but in case of conflict the man before the dollar.
Abraham Lincoln

Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.
Abraham Lincoln

Some day I shall be President.
Abraham Lincoln

Some single mind must be master, else there will be no agreement in anything.
Abraham Lincoln

Stand with anybody that stands right, stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Abraham Lincoln

Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality.
Abraham Lincoln

Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.
Abraham Lincoln

That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.
Abraham Lincoln

The assertion that "all men are created equal" was of no practical use in effecting our separation from Great Britain and it was placed in the Declaration not for that, but for future use.
Abraham Lincoln

The ballot is stronger than the bullet.
Abraham Lincoln

The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.
Abraham Lincoln

The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.
Abraham Lincoln

The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.
Abraham Lincoln

The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.
Abraham Lincoln

The highest art is always the most religious, and the greatest artist is always a devout person.
Abraham Lincoln

The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is why he makes so many of them.
Abraham Lincoln

The people themselves, and not their servants, can safely reverse their own deliberate decisions.
Abraham Lincoln

The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.
Abraham Lincoln

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.
Abraham Lincoln

The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
Abraham Lincoln

The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep's for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as his liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty. Plainly, the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of liberty.
Abraham Lincoln

The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read.
Abraham Lincoln

The time comes upon every public man when it is best for him to keep his lips closed.
Abraham Lincoln

The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself in every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him.
Abraham Lincoln

There is another old poet whose name I do not now remember who said, "Truth is the daughter of Time."
Abraham Lincoln

There is nothing true anywhere, The true is nowhere to be seen; If you say you see the true, This seeing is not the true one.
Abraham Lincoln

These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people.
Abraham Lincoln

These men ask for just the same thing, fairness, and fairness only. This, so far as in my power, they, and all others, shall have.
Abraham Lincoln

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.
Abraham Lincoln

This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to overthrow it.
Abraham Lincoln

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
Abraham Lincoln

To give victory to the right, not bloody bullets, but peaceful ballots only, are necessary.
Abraham Lincoln

To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.
Abraham Lincoln

To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men.
Abraham Lincoln

Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.
Abraham Lincoln

We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.
Abraham Lincoln

We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.
Abraham Lincoln

What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself.
Abraham Lincoln

Whatever you are, be a good one.
Abraham Lincoln

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.
Abraham Lincoln

When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion.
Abraham Lincoln

When I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he were fighting bees.
Abraham Lincoln

When you have got an elephant by the hind legs and he is trying to run away, it's best to let him run.
Abraham Lincoln

Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.
Abraham Lincoln

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.
Abraham Lincoln

With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.
Abraham Lincoln

With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die.
Abraham Lincoln

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.
Abraham Lincoln

You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence.
Abraham Lincoln

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.
Abraham Lincoln

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.
Abraham Lincoln

You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.
Abraham Lincoln