Abraham Lincoln

 Passage 1 is adapted from Abraham Lincoln, “Address to the

Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois.” Originally

delivered in 1838. Passage 2 is from Henry David Thoreau,

“Resistance to Civil Government.” Originally published

in 1849.

Passage 1

Let every American, every lover of liberty, every

well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the

Revolution, never to violate in the least particular,

the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their

violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did

to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so

to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every

American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred

honor;—let every man remember that to violate the

law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to

tear the character of his own, and his children’s

liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by

every American mother, to the lisping babe, that

prattles on her lap—let it be taught in schools, in

seminaries, and in colleges;—let it be written in

Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;—let it be

preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative

halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short,

let it become the political religion of the nation;

and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor,

the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and

colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its

altars....

When I so pressingly urge a strict observance of

all the laws, let me not be understood as saying there

are no bad laws, nor that grievances may not arise,

for the redress of which, no legal provisions have

been made. I mean to say no such thing. But I do

mean to say, that, although bad laws, if they exist,

should be repealed as soon as possible, still while they

continue in force, for the sake of example, they

should be religiously observed. So also in unprovided

cases. If such arise, let proper legal provisions be

made for them with the least possible delay; but, till

then, let them if not too intolerable, be borne with.

There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress

by mob law. In any case that arises, as for instance,

the promulgation of abolitionism, one of two

positions is necessarily true; that is, the thing is right

within itself, and therefore deserves the protection of

all law and all good citizens; or, it is wrong, and

therefore proper to be prohibited by legal

enactments; and in neither case, is the interposition

of mob law, either necessary, justifiable, or excusable.

Passage 2

Unjust laws exist; shall we be content to obey

them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey

them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress

them at once? Men generally, under such a

government as this, think that they ought to wait

until they have persuaded the majority to alter them.

They think that, if they should resist, the remedy

would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the

government itself that the remedy is worse than the

evil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to

anticipate and provide for reform? Why does it not

cherish its wise minority? Why does it cry and resist

before it is hurt?...

If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of

the machine of government, let it go, let it go;

perchance it will wear smooth—certainly the

machine will wear out. If the injustice has a spring, or

a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclusively for itself,

then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy

will not be worse than the evil; but if it is of such a

nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice

to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be

a counter friction to stop the machine. What I have

to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to

the wrong which I condemn.

As for adopting the ways which the State has

provided for remedying the evil, I know not of such

ways. They take too much time, and a man’s life will

be gone. I have other affairs to attend to. I came into

this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to

live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. A man has

not everything to do, but something; and because he

cannot do everything, it is not necessary that he

should do something wrong.I do not hesitate to say, that those who call

themselves Abolitionists should at once effectually

withdraw their support, both in person and property,

from the government . . . and not wait till they

constitute a majority of one, before they suffer the

right to prevail through them. I think that it is

enough if they have God on their side, without

waiting for that other one. Moreover, any man more

right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one

already.

x