One of America’s greatest politicians, most respected and beloved personalities, Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States.
Lincoln’s story is a remarkable one. Born into a humble family with illiterate parents, he got from being a shopkeeper to holding the highest office. While being president, Lincoln led his people through the Civil War, the costliest war in the history of the U.S., and made major decisions on the Union war strategy. He fought for equal rights, liberty, and democracy. Those hard and bloody times led to the abolition of slavery and made the economy flourish.
Switching to merrier times, Abraham Lincoln was also the one to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday. That big turkey wouldn’t have had the same appeal without Thanksgiving, would it?
From a great man of significant accomplishments, a big heart with a bigger voice,
here are 35 Abraham Lincoln quotes to make you cherish honor and become a better person.
1. "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."
2. "I’m a success today because I had a friend who believed in me and I didn’t have the heart to let him down."
3. "Whatever you are, be a good one."
4. "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power."
5. "When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion."
6. "Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves."
7. "I am a slow walker, but I never walk back."
8. "There are no bad pictures; that’s just how your face looks sometimes."
9. "Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it."
10. "I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better."
11. "When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."
12. "Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm."
13. "I would rather be a little nobody, then to be an evil somebody."
14. "Character is like a tree and reputation its shadow. The shadow is what we think it is and the tree is the real thing."
15. "Tact: the ability to describe others as they see themselves."
16. "The best way to predict your future is to create it."
17. "I will prepare and someday my chance will come."
18. "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."
19. "I do the very best I know how – the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end."
20. "My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure."
21. "I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice."
22. "Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle."
23. "He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help."
24. "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
25. "I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being."
26. "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
27. "If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance."
28. “Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?”
29. “No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar.”
30. “Nothing in this world is impossible to a willing heart.”
31. “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.”
32. "I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow."
33. "If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could then better judge what to do, and how to do it."
34. “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true.”
35. “You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man’s initiative and independence.”
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