a good deal of our contemporary reverence for the declaration of independence owes as much or more to lincoln's elevation & recontextualization of the document as it does to the document itself, so it is with that in mind that i want to mark today with a few words from lincoln.
"I have often inquired of myself, what great principle or idea it was that kept this [Union] so long together."
"It was not the mere matter of the separation of the colonies from the mother land; but something in that Declaration giving liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but hope to the world for all future time."
"It was that which gave promise that in due time the weights should be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that all should have an equal chance. This is the sentiment embodied in that Declaration of Independence."
"Now, my friends, can this country be saved upon that basis? If it can, I will consider myself one of the happiest men in the world if I can help to save it. If it can’t be saved upon that principle, it will be truly awful."
"But, if this country cannot be saved without giving up that principle–I was about to say I would rather be assassinated on this spot than to surrender it."
From his February 22, 1861 address at Independence Hall. teachingamericanhistory.org/library/docume…
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