Abraham Lincoln Quotes On Democracy & Freedom

Read the best collection of Abraham Lincoln quotes, sayings, and speeches on justice, racism, slavery, freedom, and democracy to inspire you to be a better leader.

Abraham Lincoln is one of the greatest American Presidents of all time. He was the 16th President of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He fought for equality and led the nation through one of its most turbulent times.

And though he served only for four years, his impact was immense, and his legacy continues to inspire and shape American culture today.

His legal reputation gave rise to the nickname “Honest Abe”.

Lincoln’s presidency was marked by some of the most significant events in American history, including the Civil War and the abolition of slavery.

With an unwavering commitment to preserving the Union and his deep moral conviction that all men are created equal, he served his country with patience, perseverance, integrity,

As a great an iconic leader, he strongly advocated a democracy that was; “of the people, by the people, for the people,” and he dedicated his life to realizing that vision.

These and many other memorable quotes from Abraham Lincoln continue to inspire and guide individuals around the world, reminding us of the power of leadership, perseverance, and courage.

Top 10 Abraham Lincoln Quotes

1. “Whatever you are, be a good one.” ― Abraham Lincoln                                                                                                     

   
2. “Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.” ― Abraham Lincoln
3. “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” ― Abraham Lincoln
4. “Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.” ― Abraham Lincoln                                                               
5. “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” ― Abraham Lincoln                                           
6. “And in the end it is not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years.” ― Abraham Lincoln                                                                                                                                                                               

   

7. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” ― Abraham Lincoln                                                                                                                                                                     
8. “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” ― Abraham Lincoln
9. “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” ― Abraham Lincoln                                                                                                                                                                         

Famous Quotes By Abraham Lincoln

1. “The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” ― Abraham Lincoln                                                                                                   
2. “I am a slow walker, but I never walk back.” ― Abraham Lincoln                                                                                     
3. “If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?” ― Abraham Lincoln
4. “If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.” ― Abraham Lincoln                                                                             
5. “Every person’s happiness is their own responsibility.” ― Abraham Lincoln
6. “Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it.” ― Abraham Lincoln
7. “There are no bad pictures; that’s just how your face looks sometimes.” ― Abraham Lincoln
8. “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.” ― Abraham Lincoln
9. “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” ― Abraham Lincoln
10. “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.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Best Quotes From Abraham Lincoln

1. “Everybody likes a compliment.” ― Abraham Lincoln
2. “He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.” ― Abraham Lincoln
3. “A friend is one who has the same enemies as you have.” ― Abraham Lincoln
4. “I would rather be a little nobody, then to be an evil somebody.” ― Abraham Lincoln
5. “Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” ― Abraham Lincoln
6. “It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong.” ― Abraham Lincoln
7. “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.” ― Abraham Lincoln
8. “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” ― Abraham Lincoln
9. “Man is not the only animal who labors; but he is the only one who improves his workmanship.” ― Abraham Lincoln
10. “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free” ― Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

1. “Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time.” ― Abraham Lincoln
2. “To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own.” ― Abraham Lincoln
3. “It is not best to swap horses while crossing the river.” ― Abraham Lincoln
4. “No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.” ― Abraham Lincoln
5. “You can tell the greatness of someone by what makes them angry.” ― Abraham Lincoln
6. “I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.” ― Abraham Lincoln
7. “Human action can be modified to some extent, but human nature cannot be changed.” ― Abraham Lincoln
8. “I don’t know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.” ― Abraham Lincoln
9. “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it.” ― Abraham Lincoln
10. “I am rather inclined to silence, and whether that be wise or not, it is at least more unusual nowadays to find a man who can hold his tongue than to find one who cannot.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln Inspirational Quotes

1. “I have a congenital aversion to failure.” ― Abraham Lincoln
2. “No man is poor who has a Godly mother.” ― Abraham Lincoln
3. “A woman is the only thing I am afraid of that I know will not hurt me.” ― Abraham Lincoln
4. “If I am killed, I can die but once; but to live in constant dread of it, is to die over and over again.” ― Abraham Lincoln
5. “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” ― Abraham Lincoln
6. “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy.” ― Abraham Lincoln
7. “I do the very best I know how – the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.”  ― Abraham Lincoln
8. “The greatest fine art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land.” ― Abraham Lincoln
9. “In law it is a good policy to never plead what you need not, lest you oblige yourself to prove what you can not.” ― Abraham Lincoln
10. “Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Abe Lincoln Quotes On Success

1. “Wanting to work is so rare a merit that it should be encouraged.” ― Abraham Lincoln
2. “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” ― Abraham Lincoln
3. “Discipline is choosing between what you want now, and what you want most.” ― Abraham Lincoln
4. “That some achieve great success is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.” ― Abraham Lincoln
5. “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” ― Abraham Lincoln
6. “Don’t worry when you are not recognized but strive to be worthy of recognition.” ― Abraham Lincoln
7. “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.” ― Abraham Lincoln
8. “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 by the light that I have.” ― Abraham Lincoln
9. “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” ― Abraham Lincoln
10. “You can have anything you want if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln Quotes To Inspire Youth

1. “Love is the chain to lock a child to its parent.” ― Abraham Lincoln
2. “I will prepare and someday my chance will come.” ― Abraham Lincoln
3. “A new book is like a friend that I have yet to meet.” ― Abraham Lincoln
4. “The better part of one’s life consists of his friendships.” ― Abraham Lincoln
5. “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?” ― Abraham Lincoln
6. “Do good to those who hate you and turn their ill will to friendship.” ― Abraham Lincoln
7. “I am not concerned that you have fallen — I am concerned that you arise.” ― Abraham Lincoln
8. “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” ― Abraham Lincoln
9. “I distrust the wisdom if not the sincerity of friends who would hold my hands while my enemies stab me.” ― Abraham Lincoln
10. “Common-looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln Quotes On Leadership

1. “Important principles may, and must, be inflexible.” ― Abraham Lincoln
2. “In very truth, he was, the noblest work of God—an honest man.” ― Abraham Lincoln
3. “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” ― Abraham Lincoln
4. “I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day.” – Abraham Lincoln
5. “If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance.” – Abraham Lincoln
6. “I remember my mother’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” – Abraham Lincoln
7. “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.” – Abraham Lincoln
8. “If we have no friends, we have no pleasure; and if we have them, we are sure to lose them, and be doubly pained by the loss.” ― Abraham Lincoln
9. “The way for a young man to rise is to improve himself in every way he can, never suspecting that anybody wishes to hinder him.” – Abraham Lincoln
10. “Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another, but let him work diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built.” – Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln Quotes For The Future

1. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” ― Abraham Lincoln                                                                             
2. “The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.” ― Abraham Lincoln
3. “What is to be, will be, and no prayers of ours can arrest the decree.” ― Abraham Lincoln
4. “Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other right.” ― Abraham Lincoln
5. “It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.” ― Abraham Lincoln                                                                                                                                                                                     
6. “I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.” ― Abraham Lincoln
7. “We live in the midst of alarms; anxiety clouds the future; we expect some new disaster with each newspaper we read.” ― Abraham Lincoln
8. “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.” – Abraham Lincoln
9. “There are no accidents in my philosophy. Every effect must have its cause. The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future. All these are links in the endless chain stretching from the finite to the infinite.” ― Abraham Lincoln

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If you like these meaningful principle quotes, then check our posts on ethics quotes and integrity quotes to inspire you to be fair and just in your work and life.

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