Abraham Lincoln Quotes
Lincoln's speeches and letters are fully published in his Collected Works, so a real Lincoln quote can almost always be dated to a specific speech. All of the quotes below can; the popular ones flagged further down cannot.
4 real Abraham Lincoln quotes, with sources
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”Abraham Lincoln — “House Divided” speech, Springfield, Illinois, 16 June 1858
“Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”Abraham Lincoln — Cooper Union address, New York, 27 February 1860
“As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.”Abraham Lincoln — Annual Message to Congress, 1 December 1862
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.”Abraham Lincoln — Second Inaugural Address, 4 March 1865
Famous quotes Abraham Lincoln never said
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”Not in Lincoln's writings. The idea is usually traced to the computer scientist Alan Kay (“The best way to predict the future is to invent it”, 1971) and the management writer Peter Drucker.
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”Not found in Lincoln's writings. It seems to derive from a remark by Thomas Carlyle, and similar lines appear in biographies written about Lincoln.
“I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.”Only found in a newspaper report of 1864 and considered unverified. It is not in his Collected Works.
Who was Abraham Lincoln?
A self-taught frontier lawyer, Lincoln led the United States through the Civil War, preserved the Union and issued the Emancipation Proclamation. He was assassinated in April 1865, days after the war's end. His short, plain speeches are among the finest in the English language. Read more on Wikipedia.
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What is Abraham Lincoln's most famous quote?
One of the best known is “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.” (Second Inaugural Address, 4 March 1865)
Did Abraham Lincoln really say “The best way to predict your future is to create it.”?
No. Not in Lincoln's writings. The idea is usually traced to the computer scientist Alan Kay (“The best way to predict the future is to invent it”, 1971) and the management writer Peter Drucker.
Did Abraham Lincoln really say “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”?
No. Not found in Lincoln's writings. It seems to derive from a remark by Thomas Carlyle, and similar lines appear in biographies written about Lincoln.
Did Abraham Lincoln really say “I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.”?
No. Only found in a newspaper report of 1864 and considered unverified. It is not in his Collected Works.
Where do these Abraham Lincoln quotes come from?
Lincoln's speeches and letters are fully published in his Collected Works, so a real Lincoln quote can almost always be dated to a specific speech. All of the quotes below can; the popular ones flagged further down cannot.
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