80 Famous Abraham Lincoln Quotes on Life, Freedom, Leadership & Democracy
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) was the 16th President of the United States, widely regarded as the greatest American president. Born in a frontier log cabin and largely self-educated, he suffered repeated failures -- in business, in love, and in politics -- before winning the presidency in 1860. He guided the nation through the Civil War, abolished slavery, and delivered some of the most profound speeches in the English language before being assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.
In the summer of 1862, with the Civil War going badly for the Union, Lincoln read a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. Secretary of State Seward advised him to wait for a military victory before issuing it, lest it appear an act of desperation. Lincoln agreed and waited for months, enduring agonizing battlefield defeats, until the Battle of Antietam in September provided the victory he needed. On January 1, 1863, he signed the Proclamation, transforming the war from a struggle to preserve the Union into a crusade for human freedom. As he said in his second inaugural address, delivered just weeks before his death: "With malice toward none, with charity for all." That extraordinary call for reconciliation -- offered in the midst of the bloodiest war in American history, by a man who had lost a son to illness, a country to civil war, and would soon lose his own life -- represents the highest expression of moral leadership in the American tradition.
Who Was Abraham Lincoln?
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Born | February 12, 1809, Hodgenville, Kentucky, USA |
| Died | April 15, 1865 (age 56), Washington, D.C., USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Role | 16th President of the United States |
| Known For | Civil War leadership, abolishing slavery, Gettysburg Address, assassinated in office |
Abraham Lincoln (1809--1865) was born in a one-room log cabin in rural Kentucky and largely educated himself by candlelight. He worked as a rail-splitter, store clerk, postmaster, and self-taught lawyer before entering politics. Elected as the 16th president in 1860, Lincoln led the United States through the Civil War, preserved the Union, and issued the Emancipation Proclamation that began the end of slavery. His Gettysburg Address, delivered in just over two minutes, became one of the defining statements of democratic government. Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, just days after the war's end. He is consistently ranked by historians as one of the greatest American presidents, and his words on freedom, equality, and human dignity endure as guiding principles for leaders around the world.
Key Achievements and Episodes
Self-Taught Lawyer: From Log Cabin to the Bar
Lincoln had less than one year of formal schooling in his entire life. Growing up on the American frontier, he educated himself by borrowing books and reading by firelight after days of physical labor. He taught himself law by studying Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1836 without ever attending law school. He became one of the most successful lawyers in Illinois, known for his sharp logic, storytelling ability, and moral persuasion. His self-education remains one of the most remarkable stories of intellectual achievement in American history.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
In 1858, Lincoln challenged incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas to a series of seven public debates across Illinois. The central topic was slavery -- Douglas advocated "popular sovereignty," allowing territories to decide for themselves, while Lincoln argued that slavery was morally wrong and should not be expanded. The debates drew national attention and established Lincoln as a formidable political figure. Although he lost the Senate race, the debates made him a household name and positioned him for the presidential nomination in 1860.
Second Inaugural Address: "With Malice Toward None"
On March 4, 1865, with the Civil War nearly over and Union victory assured, Lincoln delivered his Second Inaugural Address. Rather than celebrating triumph, he reflected on the war's meaning, attributing it to the shared national sin of slavery and calling for reconciliation: "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, to bind up the nation's wounds." Lincoln considered it his best speech. Six weeks later, he was dead -- assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865.
Most Famous Abraham Lincoln Quotes
These are the most famous Abraham Lincoln quotes — the words that defined a nation during its greatest crisis. From the Gettysburg Address to his Second Inaugural, Lincoln's most iconic sayings on freedom, democracy, and human dignity remain among the most widely quoted words in the English language.
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863
"No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar."
Attributed to Lincoln
"The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next."
Attributed to Lincoln
"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."
Attributed to Lincoln
"I don't like that man. I must get to know him better."
Attributed to Lincoln — on overcoming prejudice
"Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm."
Attributed to Lincoln
"Human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be changed."
First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861
"The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just."
Speech at Springfield, December 26, 1839
"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."
Cooper Union Address, New York, February 27, 1860
"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection."
First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861
"The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861
"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion."
Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863
"We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom."
Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863
Lincoln Quotes on Freedom and Democracy
Lincoln's conviction that freedom must be universal -- that "those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves" -- drove the most consequential moral and political transformation in American history. His evolution from a moderate opponent of slavery's expansion into the Great Emancipator who issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, reflected both the pressures of war and a deepening moral conviction that the institution of slavery was incompatible with the principles of the Declaration of Independence. The Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people in Confederate states and authorized the enlistment of African American soldiers, transforming the Civil War from a struggle to preserve the Union into a crusade for human liberty that attracted nearly 180,000 Black soldiers to the Union cause. His Gettysburg Address of November 19, 1863 -- just 272 words delivered in under three minutes -- redefined American democracy by connecting the nation's founding ideals of equality to the ongoing struggle against slavery. Lincoln's leadership during the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment in January 1865, which permanently abolished slavery throughout the United States, represented the fulfillment of the revolutionary promise that "all men are created equal."
"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves."
Letter to Henry L. Pierce, April 6, 1859
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy."
Fragment on slavery, August 1, 1858
"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free."
House Divided Speech, Springfield, Illinois, June 16, 1858
"In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free -- honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve."
Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862
"The ballot is stronger than the bullet."
Speech at Bloomington, Illinois, May 29, 1856
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Widely attributed to Lincoln -- reflects a theme from his Lyceum Address, January 27, 1838
"Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on the danger of cynicism in a free society
"This is a world of compensations; and he who would be no slave, must consent to have no slave."
Letter to Henry L. Pierce, April 6, 1859
"No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent."
Speech at Peoria, Illinois, October 16, 1854
"Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."
Speech to the 140th Indiana Regiment, March 17, 1865
"Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well-wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution never to violate in the least particular the laws of the country."
Lyceum Address, Springfield, January 27, 1838
"My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery."
Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862
"I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men everywhere could be free."
Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862
Lincoln Quotes About Leadership and Character
Lincoln's understanding that character is the essential quality of leadership was forged through decades of personal failure and political setback that would have defeated a less resilient individual. Before winning the presidency in 1860, he had lost campaigns for the state legislature, failed in business, suffered a nervous breakdown, lost two bids for the U.S. Senate, and was rejected for the vice-presidential nomination in 1856. His famous test of character -- that power reveals a man's true nature -- reflected the hard-won wisdom of a leader who had observed how ambition, authority, and crisis exposed the moral core of those around him. His "Team of Rivals" cabinet, in which he appointed his three chief Republican opponents -- William Seward, Salmon Chase, and Edward Bates -- to senior positions, demonstrated a confidence in his own judgment and a political generosity that astonished contemporary observers. Lincoln's ability to manage these brilliant, ambitious, and often contentious subordinates while maintaining a unified war effort demonstrated that great leadership requires emotional intelligence, patience, and the humility to recognize that even one's opponents may possess superior knowledge in specific areas.
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on the true test of character
"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on integrity over victory
"Whatever you are, be a good one."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on excellence in every role
"You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on honesty and public trust
"I do the very best I know how -- the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end."
Remark reported by Francis Carpenter during his time at the White House, 1864
"Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on substance versus appearance
"I would rather be a little nobody than to be an evil somebody."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on moral courage over ambition
"If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem."
Address at Clinton, Illinois, September 8, 1858
"I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me."
Reply to Missouri Committee of Seventy, September 30, 1863
"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on humility in leadership
"If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?"
Attributed to Lincoln -- reply during the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 1858
"Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on diplomacy and understanding
"If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance."
Speech on the Sub-Treasury, Springfield, December 26, 1839
Lincoln Quotes on Perseverance and Resilience
Lincoln's famous declaration that he was "a slow walker, but I never walk back" perfectly captured the methodical, determined approach to progress that defined both his personal character and his political leadership. Self-educated in a one-room frontier cabin with almost no access to books beyond the Bible, Shakespeare, and Blackstone's Commentaries, Lincoln developed his extraordinary command of language and logical reasoning through years of solitary study and practice. His legal career on the Illinois circuit courts, riding horseback from courthouse to courthouse for months at a time, taught him the art of persuasion, the importance of preparation, and the value of understanding opposing arguments before dismantling them. During the darkest periods of the Civil War, when Union generals failed repeatedly and public opinion turned against him, Lincoln's patience and persistence kept the nation's cause alive until Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan achieved the military breakthroughs that ultimately preserved the Union. His resilience in the face of personal tragedy -- including the death of his beloved son Willie in the White House in February 1862 -- demonstrated that the quiet courage of endurance can be as heroic as any battlefield valor.
"I am a slow walker, but I never walk back."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on steady, unwavering progress
"The best way to predict your future is to create it."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on taking ownership of your destiny
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on the value of preparation
"My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on the danger of complacency after setbacks
"I will prepare and some day my chance will come."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on patience and readiness
"That some achieve great success is proof to all that others can achieve it as well."
Address before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, Milwaukee, September 30, 1859
"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing."
Letter to Isham Reavis, November 5, 1855
"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on managing overwhelming challenges
"I am not concerned that you have fallen -- I am concerned that you arise."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on recovery from failure
"The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew."
Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862
"We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth."
Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862
"Hold on with a bulldog grip, and chew and choke as much as possible."
Telegram to General Ulysses S. Grant, August 17, 1864
"I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday."
Remark recorded by Francis Carpenter, Six Months at the White House, 1866
"The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him."
Letter to William H. Herndon, July 10, 1848
Lincoln Quotes About Life and Human Nature
Lincoln's observations about human nature and the pursuit of happiness reveal a mind of remarkable psychological depth and philosophical sophistication, honed by a lifetime of careful observation and self-examination. His suggestion that people are "about as happy as they make their minds up to be" anticipated modern positive psychology's finding that happiness depends more on internal attitudes than external circumstances. Lincoln himself suffered from what contemporaries called "melancholy" -- what modern clinicians might diagnose as clinical depression -- yet he channeled his personal darkness into a profound empathy for human suffering that distinguished his leadership from the more detached politicians of his era. His gift for storytelling and humor, used strategically to defuse tensions, win arguments, and maintain morale during the bleakest moments of the war, was both a personal coping mechanism and a political tool of extraordinary effectiveness. Lincoln's assassination at Ford's Theatre on April 14, 1865, just five days after Lee's surrender at Appomattox, transformed him from a controversial wartime president into a martyred national saint whose words and example continue to define the American understanding of democratic leadership, moral courage, and the ongoing struggle to fulfill the promise of human equality.
"Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on the power of attitude
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"
Attributed to Lincoln -- on reconciliation over revenge
"When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."
Attributed to Lincoln by William Herndon in Herndon's Lincoln, 1889
"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, March 4, 1865
"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships."
Letter to Joseph Gillespie, July 13, 1849
"I laugh because I must not cry, that is all, that is all."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on using humor to endure hardship
"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on living with purpose and meaning
"Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other."
Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865
"The Almighty has His own purposes."
Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865
"Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow."
Attributed to Lincoln by Joshua Speed, Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln, 1888
"Every man's happiness is his own responsibility."
Attributed to Lincoln
"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on tolerance and human imperfection
Inspirational Abraham Lincoln Quotes on Life
Abraham Lincoln's inspirational quotes about life draw from his extraordinary personal journey — from a frontier log cabin with almost no formal schooling to the White House. His words on perseverance, happiness, and living with purpose reflect the hard-won wisdom of a man who overcame repeated failures to become America's greatest president.
"It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong."
Letter to various supporters, 1859
"Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today."
Notes for law lecture, circa 1850
"The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly."
Attributed to Lincoln
"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"
Attributed to Lincoln
"Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all."
Attributed to Lincoln
"I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being."
Attributed to Lincoln
"Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored."
Lyceum Address, Springfield, January 27, 1838
"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present."
Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862
"A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have."
Attributed to Lincoln
"Discourage litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a real loser -- in fees, expenses, and waste of time."
Notes for a law lecture, circa 1850
"A lawyer's time and advice are his stock in trade."
Notes for a law lecture, circa 1850
"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on faith in democratic citizenry
"Let reverence for the laws be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap."
Lyceum Address, Springfield, January 27, 1838
"I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice."
Attributed to Lincoln -- on compassionate governance
Frequently Asked Questions about Abraham Lincoln Quotes
What is Abraham Lincoln's most famous quote?
Lincoln's most iconic line — "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" — comes from the Gettysburg Address of November 1863. He is also widely cited for "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves," from his April 6, 1859 letter to Henry L. Pierce.
What did Lincoln say about freedom and slavery?
In his 1858 House Divided Speech, Lincoln warned, "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free." His Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863 freed enslaved people in Confederate states, and the Thirteenth Amendment of 1865 permanently abolished slavery.
What did Lincoln say about leadership and character?
Lincoln observed, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power," and "I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have." He embodied that philosophy by forming his "Team of Rivals" cabinet from his political opponents.
When did Lincoln serve as president?
Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from his inauguration in March 1861 until his assassination by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. He guided the nation through the Civil War, abolished slavery, and delivered the Gettysburg Address in November 1863.
Why is Abraham Lincoln still quoted today?
Born in a frontier log cabin and largely self-educated, Lincoln transformed the Civil War from a political conflict over secession into a moral crusade for human liberty. The Gettysburg Address redefined democratic governance for the modern world in fewer than 300 words, ensuring that his speeches remain among the most quoted in any language.
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