The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln: A Narrative And Descriptive Biography With Pen-Pictures And Personal; Recollections By Those Who Knew HimBrowne, Francis F. (Francis Fisher)
History
The Every-day Life of Abraham Lincoln: A Narrative And Descriptive Biography With Pen-Pictures And Personal; Recollections By Those Who Knew Him
Browne, Francis F. (Francis Fisher)
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865; Presidents -- United States -- Biography
degenerated) may, according to the examples of those noble
fathers--Washington, Jefferson and Madison. We mean to remember
that you are as good as we; that there is no difference between
us, other than the difference of circumstances. We mean to
recognize and bear in mind always, that you have as good hearts in
your bosoms as other people, or as we claim to have, and treat you
accordingly. We mean to marry your girls, when we have a
chance--the white ones, I mean--and I have the honor to inform you
that I once did have a chance in that way. I have told you what we
mean to do. I want to know now what _you_ mean to do. I often hear
it intimated that you mean to divide the Union whenever a
Republican, or anything like it, is elected President of the United
States. [A voice--'That is so.'] 'That is so,' one of them says; I
wonder if he is a Kentuckian? [A voice--'He is a Douglas man.']
Well, then, I want to know what you are going to do with your half
of it? Are you going to split the Ohio down through, and push your
half off a piece? Or are you going to keep it right alongside of us
outrageous fellows? Or are you going to build up a wall some way
between your country and ours, by which that movable property of
yours can't come over here any more, to the danger of your losing
it? Do you think you can better yourselves on that subject by
leaving us here under no obligation whatever to return those
specimens of your movable property that come hither? You have
divided the Union because we would not do right with you, as you
think, upon that subject; when we cease to be under obligations to
do anything for you, how much better off do you think you will be?
Will you make war upon us and kill us all? Why, gentlemen, I think
you are as gallant and as brave men as live; that you can fight as
bravely in a good cause, man for man, as any other people living;
that you have shown yourselves capable of this upon various
occasions; but man for man, you are not better than we are, and
there are not so many of you as there are of us. You will never
make much of a hand at whipping us. If we were fewer in numbers
than you, I think that you could whip us; if we were equal, it
would likely be a drawn battle; but being inferior in numbers, you
will make nothing by attempting to master us.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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