Quote Needed

Gar Lipow lipowg at sprintmail.com
Thu Nov 2 22:14:15 PST 2000


Doug -- Your friend can probably find a wealth of quotations in Abraham Lincoln -- though possibly not the right President to quote if these are SOUTHERN conservatives:

If you can track them down, you might also find some really good quotes specifically in favor of Tariffs. Slavery and "Free Trade" were tightly bound twins in Lincoln's time -- and Lincoln's opposition to slavery was tightly intertwined with his opposition to "Free Trade"


>These capitalists generally act harmoniously, and in concert to fleece the people.
> -- Illinois legislature (January 11, 1837)


>And, inasmuch as most good things are produced by labor, it follows that all such things of right belong to those whose labor has produced them. But it has so happened in all the ages of the world, that some have labored, and others have, without labor, enjoyed a large proportion of the fruits. This is wrong, and should not continue. To secure to each laborer the whole product of his labor, or as nearly as possible, is a most worthy object of any good government.
> -- Fragment of a Tariff Discussion (December 1, 1847)


>"The legitimate object of government," he was later to say, "is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all, or cannot do so well, for themselves, in their separate and individual capacities.

Note to others on this list: Yes I KNOW Lincoln was no abolitionist -- but in practice he lead the war that ended chattel slavery in the U.S. He genuinely hated slavery -- and his opposition to "Free Trade" combined with his "free soil" opposition to extending slavery to any spot where it did not already exist were too destructive for slavers to have ever accepted. In essence, they were the strong form of what is sometimes referred to as non-reformist reforms -- popular reforms which would be suicide for the enemy to accept. He was no friend to anti-racism, but he can be respected as an ally. He carried out the best of his intentions, and hovever belatedly was forced by history to extend his support for freedom far beyond the bounds he orignally intended. The evil he intended, he was prevented from carrying out.

I hope someone will post Frederick Douglas famous speech on how Lincoln was never the friend of the Black man -- for every word is true. I also know that what Lincoln actually accomplished with no intention of friendship will also be remembered.



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