Abraham Lincoln quotes he really said
The top 3 according to 36 votes from people: I do not mean to say we are bound to follow implicitly in whatever our fathers did. · …government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. · Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty…. (Updated Mar 27, 2021.)
Lincoln's best-known lines with the speech or letter each comes from. No fakes: «Nearly all men can stand adversity…» and «You can fool all the people…» are left out because there's no record of him saying them.
Top 12
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1
I do not mean to say we are bound to follow implicitly in whatever our fathers did.
Cooper Union speech, New York, 27 February 1860.
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2
…government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Closing words of the Gettysburg Address (1863).
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3
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty…
Opening of the Gettysburg Address, 19 November 1863.
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4
My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery.
Letter to Horace Greeley, 22 August 1862.
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5
If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.
Letter to Albert G. Hodges, 4 April 1864.
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6
As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.
Lyceum Address, Springfield, 1838, when he was 28.
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7
A house divided against itself cannot stand.
House Divided speech, Springfield, 16 June 1858, quoting the Gospels.
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8
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.
First Inaugural Address, 4 March 1861, appealing to the South.
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9
…when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
The closing image of the First Inaugural Address (1861).
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10
With malice toward none, with charity for all…
Second Inaugural Address, 4 March 1865, weeks before the end of the Civil War.
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11
Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.
To an Indiana regiment passing through Washington, 17 March 1865.
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12
It is not best to swap horses while crossing the river.
To the National Union League after his renomination, 9 June 1864.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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Comments (1)
Thank you for leaving out the fake ones, the internet is full of them.