Nineteenth century

Abraham Lincoln

1809–1865

Sixteenth president

He wrote his own speeches and revised them in his head. House divided, Gettysburg, the second inaugural: three different rooms, and in each the sentence is doing political work, not posing for marble.

In the canon

  1. A house divided against itself cannot stand.House Divided speech
  2. With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right.Second Inaugural Address
  3. That government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.The Gettysburg Address

All voices