Abraham Lincoln said:

[jonthepain]

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative

and independence.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could, and

should, do for themselves.

 

~~ Abraham Lincoln

[Soundfisher]

He was the Yoda of the time.

[hamlet]

wise words and true, but

"These words are often attributed to AbrahamLincoln, but according to the book They Never Said it: A Book of FakeQuotes, Misquotes, & Misleading Attributions, they are not fromLincoln.

 

The quotes were published in 1942 by William J. H. Boetcker, aPresbyterian minister. He released a pamphlet titled Lincoln OnLimitations, which did include a Lincoln quote, but also added 10statements written by Boetcker himself."

 

This excerpt is from this web page

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors...oln-quotes.htm

 

[GoBow]

Don't care who said it... Lotta truth there...

[Charlie M]

Michael Scott: Abraham Lincoln once said that "If you're a racist, I will attack you with the North,"

[Ditch Jigger]

Michael Scott: Abraham Lincoln once said that "If you're a racist, I will attack you with the North,"

 

 

The ironic aspect was that Lincoln was an unrepentant racist himself

[Mr. Bigdeal]

"A pat on the back is only 16" away from a kick in the ass."

 

Don't know who said it...........but lotta truth there also.

[Ditch Jigger]

"A pat on the back is only 16" away from a kick in the ass."

 

Don't know who said it...........but lotta truth there also.

 

 

Has a Truman-esque sound to it

[Saltator]

The ironic aspect was that Lincoln was an unrepentant racist himself

 

 

 

Do you have any evidence for this?

[FishAgain]

"Don't piss into the wind" now thats wisdom

[pappy]

also "don't **** where you eat" ........gotta love it

[Ditch Jigger]

I never state anything like that without facts to back it up.

 

The fact is that Abraham Lincoln felt that blacks were inferior to whites, and could never assimilate into white society. He was in favor of repatriation to Africa after emancipation.

 

"What I would most desire would be the separation of the white and black races."

 

- Spoken at Springfield, Illinois on July 17th, 1858; from ABRAHAM LINCOLN: COMPLETE WORKS, 1894, Vol. 1, page 273

 

"Why should the people of your race be colonized, and where? Why should they leave this country? This is, perhaps, the first question for proper consideration. You and we are different races. We have between us a broader difference than exists between almost any other two races. Whether it is right or wrong I need not discuss, but this physical difference is a great disadvantage to us both, as I think your race suffer very greatly, many of them by living among us, while ours suffer from your presence. In a word, we suffer on each side. If this be admitted, it affords a reason at least why we should be separated. It is better for both, therefore, to be separated."

 

- Spoken at the White House to a group of black community leaders, August 14th, 1862, from COLLECTED WORKS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Vol 5, page 371

 

"I will say, then, that I AM NOT NOR HAVE EVER BEEN in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the black and white races---that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with White people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the White and black races which will ever FORBID the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together, there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the White race."

 

- 4th Lincoln-Douglas debate, September 18th, 1858; COLLECTED WORKS Vol. 3, pp. 145-146

 

Those enough for you or do you need some more?

[acrylic painter]

The ironic aspect was that Lincoln was an unrepentant racist himself

 

 

It's a little unfair to state that Lincoln was an unrepentant racist when in fact, just about every white person living at that time felt exactly the same way(with the possible exceptions of John Brown and William Lloyd Garrison). In fact, Lincoln was reviled for his "liberal" notions of the abilities of the negroes to accomplish anything at all besides staying in slavery.

 

As far as the "unrepentant" aspect goes, Lincoln's attitudes changed during the war and by 1864, he had been deeply influenced by his Secretary of State William Seward, (a staunch abolitionist himself and Lincoln's former rival who by this time had become the president's close personal friend) and Seward's family. Certain phrases of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, delivered just a few weeks before his assassination, is regarded as his public acknowledgement of this new attitude that was also slowly gaining acceptance throughout the rest of the North.

[FenderBender]

I am vaguely familiar with previous quotes, but want more about repatriation.

Ditch, give us more.

 

BTW what's your source?

[hatman]

I believe his last words were "Hey, great seats!"