Either the opponents of slavery, will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new - North as well as South. Have we no tendency to the latter condition? Let any one who doubts, carefully contemplate that now almost complete legal combination - piece of machinery so to speak - compounded of the Nebraska doctrine, and the Dred Scott decision.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Lincoln warns that slavery will either be contained and eventually die out or expand until it becomes law everywhere.
- In plain terms
- Slavery will either end or spread to all states; we are heading toward the latter.
- What can you take from it?
- Slavery cannot be neutral; it must be stopped or allowed to dominate.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you contain a moral wrong?
- Is compromise possible on fundamental rights?
Another view
This dichotomy ignores potential middle-ground solutions or delays.
More from Abraham Lincoln
'A house divided against itself cannot stand.' I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be d…
Permalink to quote #67 The new year of 1854 found slavery excluded from more than half the States by State Constitutions, and from most of the national territory by congressional pro…
Permalink to quote #69 If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it. We are now far into the fifth year, s…
Permalink to quote #66
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