I am like a man so busy in letting rooms in one end of his house, that he can't stop to put out the fire that is burning the other.
Abraham LincolnRead
Why was the amendment, expressly declaring the right of the people to exclude slavery, voted down? Plainly enough now, the adoption of it would have spoiled the niche for the Dred Scott decision.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the political implications of legal decisions and the struggle against slavery.
In this quote, Abraham Lincoln critiques the rejection of an amendment that would affirm the people's right to exclude slavery, highlighting how such a measure would have conflicted with the Dred Scott decision. Lincoln illustrates the powerful interplay between law, morality, and political interests during a tumultuous period in American history, underlining the difficulties in achieving justice and equality when entangled with self-serving legal rulings.
Themes
SlaveryAmendmentJusticeDred ScottPolitics
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about civil rights, one might quote Lincoln to emphasize the importance of amendments protecting freedom.
More from Abraham Lincoln
All quotes →Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.
Abraham LincolnRead
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
Abraham LincolnRead
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
Abraham LincolnRead
For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country's cause. The highest merit, then is due to the soldier.
Abraham LincolnRead
And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear, and with manly hearts.
Abraham LincolnRead
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A light here required a shadow there.
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Without you, without your onslaughts, without your uprootings of us, we should remain all our lives inert, stagnant, puerile, ignorant both of ourselves and of God. You who batter us and then dress our wounds, you who resist us and yield to us, you who wreck and build, you who shackle and liberate, the sap of our souls, the hand of God, the flesh of Christ: it is you, matter, that I bless.
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