Negro equality! Fudge!! How long, in the government of a God, great enough to make and maintain this Universe, shall there continue to be knaves to vend, and fools to gulp, so low a piece of demagogism as this?
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Lincoln dismisses the idea of negro equality as foolish demagoguery.
- In plain terms
- He calls negro equality nonsense and demagoguery.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize rhetoric vs substance.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you handle offensive historical texts?
- What does this reveal about the era?
Another view
The language is offensive and reflects outdated biases.
More from Abraham Lincoln
Understanding the spirit of our institutions to aim at the elevation of men, I am opposed to whatever tends to degrade them.
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