Identifier: lifeofab00barr (find matches)
Title: Life of Abraham Lincoln : presenting his early history, political career, and speeches in and out of Congress
Year: 1865 (1860s)
Authors: Barrett, Joseph H. (Joseph Hartwell), 1824-1910
Subjects: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 Presidents United States
Publisher: New York : Wm. L. Allison Co.
Contributing Library: Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
Digitizing Sponsor: The Institute of Museum and Library Services through an Indiana State Library LSTA Grant

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ed in the progress of parties.It laid down certain propositions as philosophical truths, derivedfrom a close observation of events. Its opening paragraphhas already become one of the most celebrated passages inthe political literature of the country. However it may beperverted, there is no portion of this speech which can besuccessfully assailed, when taken in its true meaning. Thereis a moral sublimity in the rugged honesty and directness withwhich the grand issues in this whole slavery agitation are pre-sented. The two forces of slavery and free labor in our civiland social system, inevitably antagonistic, so long as they comeinto collision in our national politics, have each their peculiartendency, the one to make slavery, and the other to make freelabor universal. Until slavery is again reduced to its true localand sectional character, from which Douglas, Buchanan, andother agitators had conspired to raise it into national pre-dominance, the antagonism will not cease. What Douglae
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10 GRAVE OF Mfi. LINCOLNS MOTHF-R LIFE OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 145 always superficially slurred over— pretending an Indifference.such as no earnest or sound statesman can really feel, whetherslavery is voted up or voted down—Lincoln treats withtrue philosophic insight, and in the light of earnest convic-tions. This famous speech is in entire harmony with thevicars of the earlier statesmen, even of the South. If anyman at first reads this great effort doubtingly, or with aninclination toward dissent—as most assuredly few reallyearnest, thinking men can—let him carefully look onward andsee how it endures the test of a severe campaign, and how itschief positions are maintained against all the assaults of awily foe, who is himself really on trial, solemnly indicted bythat speech, yet vainly imagines that he is placing Mr. Lin-coln on the defensive. The hall, and lobbies, and galleries were even moredensely crowded and packed than at any time during theday, says the official report, as

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