These powerful Abraham Lincoln quotes about freedom, adversity, and more show why he's often called the greatest president in American history.
"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."
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“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
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"Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it."
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"Adhere to your purpose and you will soon feel as well as you ever did.”
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“Perhaps a man's character was like a tree, and his reputation like its shadow; the shadow is what we think of it, the tree is the real thing."
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"Do good to those who hate you and turn their ill will to friendship.”
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“If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?”
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“I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.”
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“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”
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"Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure.”
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"We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing.”
SourceLibrary of Congress
"If the great American people will only keep their temper, on both sides of the line, the troubles will come to an end..."
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"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."
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“I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.”
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"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free."
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“The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.”
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"The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me."
SourceLibrary of Congress
“The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly.”
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"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."
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"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.”
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“The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future. All these are links in the endless chain stretching from the finite to the infinite."
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"Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today."
SourceLibrary of Congress
"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."
SourceLibrary of Congress
"It is not best to swap horses while crossing the river."
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"We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection."
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"Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them."
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"If all do not join now to save the good old ship of the Union this voyage nobody will have a chance to pilot her on another voyage."
SourceLibrary of Congress
“I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day.”
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"Stand with anybody that stands RIGHT. Stand with him while he is right and PART with him when he goes wrong."
SourceLibrary of Congress
"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed."
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"The legitimate object of government is 'to do for the people what needs to be done, but which they can not, by individual effort, do at all, or do so well, for themselves'."
SourceLibrary of Congress
"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships."
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"I cannot bring myself to believe that any human being lives who would do me any harm.”
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Abraham Lincoln could easily be the most often misquoted figure in American history. Within just the last decade, we've seen headline-grabbing incidents in which U.S. presidents on both sides of the political divide have deployed fake Abraham Lincoln quotes.
But setting aside the fake Abraham Lincoln quotes that still sound so very good, the man left behind a wealth of verifiable wisdom that sounds even better.
The self-taught lawyer who ascended the political ladder to become America's 16th president in 1861 picked up a lot of wisdom (and a fair amount of odd humor) along the way.
Most of us may know him as the enactor of the Emancipation Proclamation who preserved the Union and had an affinity for tall hats, but Lincoln had a lot to say about humanity, adversity, the role of government, and more. See for yourself in the gallery of Abraham Lincoln quotes above.
History Uncovered Podcast
Episode 58: Fun Facts About George Washington And Abraham Lincoln
Whether it's the truth about Washington's teeth or Lincoln's little-known love of cats, discover some of the most incredible facts about two of America's most revered presidents.
After reading through the most powerful Abraham Lincoln quotes, take a look at Ralph Lincoln, a distant relative of the president who bears a striking resemblance to his ancestor. Or, discover the little-known story about Abraham Lincoln's successful wrestling career.
