A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Volume 6, part 1: Abraham Lincoln
History
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents. Volume 6, part 1: Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865; Presidents -- United States; United States -- History -- Sources; United States -- Politics and government
The proposed emancipation would shorten the war, perpetuate peace,
insure this increase of population, and proportionately the wealth of
the country. With these we should pay all the emancipation would cost,
together with our other debt, easier than we should pay our other debt
without it. If we had allowed our old national debt to run at 6 per cent
per annum, simple interest, from the end of our revolutionary struggle
until to-day, without paying anything on either principal or interest,
each man of us would owe less upon that debt now than each man owed upon
it then; and this because our increase of men through the whole period
has been greater than 6 per cent--has run faster than the interest upon
the debt. Thus time alone relieves a debtor nation, so long as its
population increases faster than unpaid interest accumulates on its
debt.
This fact would be no excuse for delaying payment of what is justly due,
but it shows the great importance of time in this connection--the great
advantage of a policy by which we shall not have to pay until we number
100,000,000 what by a different policy we would have to pay now, when we
number but 31,000,000. In a word, it shows that a dollar will be much
harder to pay for the war than will be a dollar for emancipation on the
proposed plan. And then the latter will cost no blood, no precious life.
It will be a saving of both.
As to the second article, I think it would be impracticable to return to
bondage the class of persons therein contemplated. Some of them
doubtless, in the property sense belong to loyal owners, and hence
provision is made in this article for compensating such.
The third article relates to the future of the freed people. It does not
oblige, but merely authorizes Congress to aid in colonizing such as may
consent. This ought not to be regarded as objectionable on the one hand
or on the other, insomuch as it comes to nothing unless by the mutual
consent of the people to be deported and the American voters, through
their representatives in Congress.
I can not make it better known than it already is that I strongly favor
colonization; and yet I wish to say there is an objection urged against
free colored persons remaining in the country which is largely
imaginary, if not sometimes malicious.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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