Abraham Lincoln Quotes
We must make good in essence as well as in form Madison's avowal that "the word slave ought not to appear in the Constitution"; and we must even go further and decree that only local law, and not that time-honored instrument [the Constitution], shall shelter a slave-holder.
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 first anti-slavery newspaper published in the United States & the first journal in America to advocate immediate, unconditional emancipation
In this quotation Lincoln got out of the rhetorical trap that Douglas had set for him by disclosing his personal preferences as opposed to the positions that Douglas had accused him of being pledged to. See {615827}.
This Biblical Quotation was one of the main reasons that Christian religious abolitionists were so active in the Underground Railroad and other efforts to assist and harbor fugitive slaves. It was also a motivating force for those states which passed laws making a slave free the second he set foot in the state. It was cited by many of those Northerners refusing to follow the Federal Fugitive Slave Act even after the Supreme Court upheld it in the Dred Scott decision. The act required them to return a fugitive slave to his master. This clearly violated this passage of the Bible. and the concept of States Rights. The Southern States which pushed the Fugitive Slave Act through Congress and complained bitterly when it was ignored by many Northern States were never able to provide any refute to the argument that because of this passage, following the act would be violating the law of God. The South which viewed itself as a bastion of Christianity, never were troubled by this passage when they passed state laws requiring the return of fugitive slaves. It illustrates the hypocrisy that slavery forced upon its advocates.
As a key member of Lincoln’s cabinet, William H. Seward was most concerned with preserving The Union. However, since the Constitution was written in 1787, there had been compromises made with the pro slavery forces of the South to give them proportionally more political power and to avoid interfering with the institution of slavery. The Dred Scott Supreme Court decision forced the Northern States to actively cooperate in enforcing and maintaining slavery. Large numbers of abolitionists had reached their limit and wanted no more compromises regarding slavery. Mrs. Seward was one of those. This quotation also illustrates the influence that some women had in politics even though women could not vote. Frances Seward was very much a political partner with her husband who was favored to beat Lincoln for the Republican Presidential nomination.
This was Lincoln’s first anti—slavery speech and it was memorable
The Boer war broke out when the Afrikaners of the Transvaal would not give suffrage and equality to the new British immigrants . However, Blacks were in even worse shape in the Transvaal. The British Colonial Minister had urged reform in this arena, but the British had fought an ugly war and settled for a non-Black Reform, platform assuring suffrage and other rights for the white English but assuring nothing for the Blacks. This set the stage for apartheid. In the settlement of the Boer War, England would not prolong the fighting and the casualties to gain civil and equal rights for the Black population which they had argued for and was one of the causes of the war. Just what Chamberlain warned about came to pass.
Though Leo XIII was very much opposed to slavery, his claim that the Catholic Church “from the beginning” sought to end slavery overlooks the inconsistent reality of several of his predecessors’ teachings. For an example of this inconsistency one may find a relevant example as late as the 19th century, see the teachings of Gregory XVI {611428}, Pius IX {612304}, and Leo XIII {611844}
The Act was passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly whose clerk interestingly enough was Tom Paine.
See {613644} for the earlier decree which this modified.
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.
