“I would rather be assassinated on this spot than to surrender” the principle of liberty, Abraham Lincoln exclaimed as he stood in Independence Hall. He did not know it, but he would give the ultimate sacrifice in order to secure liberty to all Americans, regardless of race.
On Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born in a backwoods cabin in Kentucky. He would go on to be one of the greatest presidents in American history, the man who saved the union and defeated the Democrats and their anti-freedom, anti-American, slavery-centered ideology.
In honor of his birthday, I want to share a couple of passages from his impromptu but moving speech in February 1861, delivered in the Philadelphia hall where the Founding Fathers approved both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Notably, President-Elect Lincoln delivered the speech on Feb. 22, which was George Washington‘s birthday. It is therefore unsurprising that he reflected on the true vision of the greatest Founders and how he hoped to fulfill their dream. While the Founders were not able to abolish slavery outright in the Constitution, Washington and his allies were gratified that the word “slave” never appears in that great document, and they did not restrict voting at all federally based on race or sex.
This was all in Lincoln‘s mind at the time of the Independence Hall speech. When he delivered it, multiple states had already seceded in protest at his election — it turns out Democrats refusing to accept the results of elections they lose is hardly a new phenomenon. That said, if you notice the word confederacy in the quote below, Lincoln is referring to the United States Union rather than what would become the Confederate States.
In the speech, Lincoln emphasized his desire that there not be any war or bloodshed, but that there be a peaceful political resolution to the disagreements between pro-slavery Democrats and his party, the Republicans. But most of all, he affirmed that he was even willing to sacrifice his own life if necessary to uphold the principles laid forth in our Founding documents, principles undermined by those who would extend oppression and limit freedom.
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“I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence,” Lincoln told the Philadelphians. “I have often pondered over the dangers which were incurred by the men who assembled here, and framed and adopted that Declaration of Independence. I have pondered over the toils that were endured by the officers and soldiers of the army who achieved that Independence. I have often inquired of myself what great principle or idea it was that kept this Confederacy so long together.”
He emphasized:
The task he would have during the war was Herculean, and not one man in a billion could have handled it as he did. Of course, every leader is flawed, but Lincoln managed to keep the Union together, defeat an enemy that committed mass war crimes (see theIt was not the mere matter of the separation of the Colonies from the motherland; but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty, not alone to the people of this country, but, I hope, to the world, for all future time. It was that which gave promise that in due time the weight would be lifted from the shoulders of all men. 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.
But if ever a president left behind him a great legacy, it was Abraham Lincoln. What Washington and Hamilton dreamed of, Lincoln was able to achieve in their name. He paid the ultimate price, which he was willing to pay, for preserving America and defending liberty.
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