I have stepped out upon this platform that I may see you and that you may see me, and in the arrangement I have the best of the bargain.
Abraham LincolnOur 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 LincolnFamiliarize yourself with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them.
Abraham LincolnSlavery 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.
Abraham Lincoln