Abraham Lincoln Quotes
Do not mistake that the ballot is stronger than the bullet.
Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, 16th President of the United States (Republican, IL), Speech, Bloomington, IN, May 29, 1856
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The reference is to the recently-passed Fugitive Slave Law, which many New Englanders, including Emerson, detested and vowed not to uphold.
This speech is often referred to as the “Ballot or the Bullet” speech. It was the first time that Malcolm X used the “Ballot or the Bullet”. He was not the first African American to use the “Ballot or the Bullet” phrase. See {624102} for a use over 100 years ago. However, he was really arguing to allow Blacks to vote in the South where it was almost impossible at the time. There was no Voting Rights Act at that time and it was his actions that helped pass one shortly thereafter.
He was the first American citizen who was assassinated by the Central Intelligence Agency by means of a drone attack. He was a major recruiter for Al Qaeda, and he preached to 3 of the 9-11 terrorists.
This phrase was also to be used over 100 years later by Malcolm X. See {624101} and {38291}.
In the history of America
Abraham Lincoln was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. In doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy.
