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There seems to be a lot of fuss at the moment over US elections. The other night, watching late-night TV, I happened upon an old black and white film about Abe Lincoln’s rise to presidency.

One scene, a political debate with an opponent, Judge Douglas, drew my attention.

(The speech in the film may differ – I’ve lifted the text from Excerpts from the Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858)

DOUGLAS: Stand by that great principle, and we can go on as we have done, increasing in wealth, in population, in power, and in all the elements of greatness, until we shall be the admiration and terror of the world. We can go on and enlarge as our population increase, require more room, until we make this continent one ocean-bound republic. Under that principle the United States can perform that great mission, that destiny, which Providence has marked out for us. Under that principle we can receive with entire safety that stream of intelligence which is constantly flowing from the Old World to the New filling up our prairies, clearing our wildernesses and building cities, towns, railroads and general internal improvements, and thus make this the asylum of all the oppressed of the whole earth. We have this great mission to perform, and it can only be performed by adhering faithfully to that principle of self-government on which our institutions were all established. I repeat that the principle is the right of each State, -each Territory, to decide this slavery question for itself, to have slavery or not, as it chooses, and it does not become Mr. Lincoln, or anybody else, to tell the people of Kentucky that they have no consciences, that they are living in a state of iniquity, and that they are cherishing an institution to their bosoms in violation of the law of God.

Become the ‘terror of the world’? I laughed to myself. Not a particularly noble aim, if you ask me.

Unfortunately my reference for the speech doesn’t have Abe’s reply, which pointed out this particular quote and that America did or should not wish to be the terror of the world. Props to you, Mr Lincoln. I’m sorry that it didn’t work out.

-G.

Posted in: Politics, War on Terror by subpixel / Tags: Abe Lincoln, elections, USA