The following is an excerpt from Principled Action, Lessons From the Origins of the American Republic.
Elected and established politicians seem
to be at loggerheads over the correct course of action. The country is in a
dire state of affairs and it may get worse real fast. What to do? Here’s some
advice from one of the Founders of the Republican Party and the first
Republican president—Abraham
Lincoln.
“Right and wrong is the precise fact upon which depends the whole controversy. Thinking it wrong, as we do, can we yield? Can we cast our votes with their view and against our own? In view of our moral, social, and political responsibilities, can we do this?
Matthew Brady Photograph
Let us not grope for some middle ground between right and wrong. Let us not search in vain for a policy of don’t care on a question about which we do care. Nor let us be frightened by threats of destruction to the government.
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!"
This is from a speech Lincoln gave well before
his nomination. At the time, he was a little known regional politician from
Springfield, Illinois. The Republican Party was new, and had failed running national
hero John C. Frémont
for president in
1856. Abraham Lincoln chances of ascending to the presidency under a Republican
banner were slight. All that changed in New York City on February 27, 1860.
That afternoon, Lincoln had his photograph taken by Mathew Brady, and in the
evening, he gave this historic speech at the Cooper Union.
It was a dramatic speech, and it was exceptionally well received. When Lincoln stepped back from the podium after his right makes might conclusion, the Cooper Union Great Hall exploded with noise and motion. Everybody stood. The staid
What was so
great about his Cooper Union address? It was earth-moving
because it was highly unusual. It was a call
for his party to stand on principle—God’s principles, the Founders’ principles, and the principles of the
Republican Party.
The South was
threatening to destroy the nation over slavery. Lincoln spent much of this
speech explaining what the Founders would think about extending slavery into
the territories. Lincoln used the Founders’ own words and votes to show that
they actually opposed the expansion of slavery.
Great leaders speak and act on principle. People will not only follow a
principled leader, they will labor mightily in a principled cause.
Americans are more than eager for principled leadership, we
demand it. If it’s not forthcoming from our currently elected representatives,
then we’ll get it from their replacements.
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