The question recurs "how shall we fortify against it?" while the deep-rooted principles of hate, and the powerful motive Distinction will be his paramount object; and although he would as willingly, perhaps more so, acquire it by doing good as harm; yet, that opportunity being past, and nothing left to be done in the way of building up, he would set boldly to the task of pulling down. thither on business, were, in many instances subjected to the I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. Having ever regarded Government as their deadliest bane, they make a jubilee of the suspension of its operations; and pray for nothing so much, as its total annihilation. to be wondered at. consequences. for our future support and defence.--Let those materials be Turn, then, to that horror-striking scene at St. Louis. "Organizational effectiveness does not lie in that narrow minded concept called rationality. The 1864 State of the Union Address was given by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make One of Abraham Lincoln's first major speeches, the Lyceum Address, was a warning to America that rings truer yet today. Matthew Pinsker: Understanding Lincoln: Lyceum Address (1838) from The Gilder Lehrman Institute on Vimeo. The text is brief, just three paragraphs amounting to less than 300 words. their destiny was inseparably linked with it. Documents in Detail: "Against American Imperialism", https://archive.org/details/lifeworks02lincuoft/page/274, Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Women, The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions Address before the Young Mens Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, Check out our collection of primary source readers. perhaps, the most highly tragic, if anything of its length, that Whenever this effect shall be produced among us; whenever the ourselves be its author and finisher. others have so done before them. This task of gratitude to our fathers, justice to ourselves, duty to posterity, and love for our species in general, all imperatively require us faithfully to perform. Abraham Lincoln, Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum, Springfield, Illinois, January 27, 1838, recorded by Dickinson College theatre professor Todd Wronski in June 2013. . attention. Cecile Nham. Quotes about DISCERNMENT. would ever think of exchanging it for another. Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the know they would endure evils long and patiently, before they The question then is, can that gratification be found in supporting and maintaining an edifice that has been erected by others? Let those materials be moulded intogeneral intelligence,sound moralityand, in particular,a reverence for the constitution and laws: and, that we improved to the last; that we remained free to the last; that we revered his name to the last; that, during his long sleep, we permitted no hostile foot to pass over or desecrate his resting place; shall be that which to learn the last trump shall awaken our WASHINGTON. In the great journal of things happening under the sun, we, the American People, find our account running, under date of the nineteenth century of the Christian era. What! Abraham Lincoln at the dedication (November 19, 1863) of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the site of one of the decisive battles of the American Civil War (July 1-3, 1863). Henry Mintzberg. Prejudice Not Natural: The American Colonization What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?. This founding gave rise to an independent streak among Americans that has led to some tolerance for protest and civil disobedience. It thirsts and burns for distinction; and if possible, it will have it, whether at the expense of emancipating slaves or enslaving freemen. Molly Ivans. Never! We, when mounting the stage of existence, found ourselves the legal inheritors of these fundamental blessings. or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will But all this even, is not the full extent of the evil. By such things the feelings of the best citizens will become more or less alienated from it, and thus it will be left without friends, or with too few, and those few too weak to make their friendship effectual. Theycanbe read no more forever. Privacy Policy, The Springfield Lyceums and Lincoln's 1838 Speech, Understanding Lincoln: The Lyceum Address of 1838. He addressed it as a threat to the perpetuation of free government, explaining the various ways in which it challenged the survival of such government. PO Box 1773 / 61 N. West Street hope, of the lovers of freedom, throughout the world. Their's was the task This week is the 185th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's first major political speech, his Jan. 27, 1838 address at the Young Men's Lyceum in Springfield, Illinois. gone to rest. Alike, they spring up among the pleasure hunting masters of Southern slaves, and the order loving citizens of the land of steady habits. example in either case, was fearful.--When men take it in their Their ambition aspired to display before an admiring world, a practical demonstration of the truth of a proposition, which had hitherto been considered, at best no better, than problematical; namely,the capability of a people to govern themselves. And why may we not for fifty times as long? unshading and unshaded, to murmur in a few gentle breezes, and If they failed, The question then, is, can that gratification be found in supporting and maintaining an edifice that has been erected by others? Those happening in the State of Mississippi, and at St. Louis, are, perhaps, the most dangerous in example, and revolting to humanity. An excerpt from an 1838 speech. He had forfeited his In November of 1863, at the height of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivered one of the most well-known speeches in history. [5] He said: It is to deny what the history of the world tells us is true, to suppose that men of ambition and talents will not continue to spring up amongst us. they have crumbled away, that temple must fall, unless we, their gone.--They were a forest of giant oaks; but the all-resistless Stream Lyceum Address (January 27, 1838) by House Divided Project on desktop and mobile. something of ill-omen, amongst us. known, nor so vividly felt, as they were by the generation just pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts it goes on, step by step, till all the walls erected for the The topic of Lincoln's speech was citizenship in a constitutional republic and threats to U.S. In history, we hope, they will recollect, that, in the confusion usually attending such Those happening in the State of Mississippi, and It will in future be our enemy. unreasonable then to expect, that some man possessed of the Research Guide, Editor: Matthew Pinsker A point that was stated in his address was slavery. throw printing-presses into rivers, shoot editors, The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, The Constitution is Our 'Political Religion: Remembering Lincoln's Words, "Lincoln: A Fast Forward Through Vidal's Historical Saga", Full text at Abraham Lincoln Online (ALO) website, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Abraham_Lincoln%27s_Lyceum_address&oldid=1148981463, This page was last edited on 9 April 2023, at 12:25. A large portion of the speech is used in the Disneyland attraction Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln. Also included is a follow-up expansion activity examining Lincoln's belief that a leader must be able to separate personal beliefs from public duty. Here then, is a probable case, highly dangerous, and such a one as could not have well existed heretofore. Permissions and Citations strangers; till, dead men were seen literally dangling from the It seesno distinctionin adding story to story, upon the monuments of fame, erected to the memory of others. negroes; and finally, strangers, from neighboring States, going of this mobocractic spirit, which all must admit, is now abroad . By what means shall we fortify against it?-- nothing beyond a seat in Congress, a gubernatorial or a presidential Most certainly it cannot. Its direct consequences are, comparatively yet, that opportunity being past, and nothing left to be done in At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? As a subject for the remarks of the evening,the perpetuation of our political institutions, is selected. occupation; but one which, so far from being forbidden by the But you are, perhaps, ready to ask, "What has this to do with the But the game is caught; and I believe it is true, that with the catching, end the pleasures of the chase. As James Russell Lowell had written, It is only first-rate events that call for and mould first-rate characters. In Lincolns rendering of these themes in the Lyceum speech, the sons of the Founders his generation were denied the opportunities for greatness afforded their sanctified fathers who fought the American Revolution and then wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. male had been a participator in some of its scenes. There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law. our WASHINGTON. I do not mean to say, that the scenes of the revolutionare noworever willbe entirely forgotten; but that like every thing else, they must fade upon the memory of the world, and grow more and more dim by the lapse of time. Lyceum Address. fleeting hour; then to sink and be forgotten. While, on the other hand, good men, men who love tranquility, who desire to abide by the laws, and enjoy their benefits, who would gladly spill their blood in the defence of their country; seeing their property destroyed; their families insulted, and their lives endangered; their persons injured; and seeing nothing in prospect that forebodes a change for the better; become tired of, and disgusted with, a Government that offers them no protection; and are not much averse to a change in which they imagine they have nothing to lose. The Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Ill., was a prominent group of professionals who, among other things, met to hear speakers on various subjects. authenticity, in the limbs mangled, in the scars of wounds (By Matthew Pinsker), That our government should have been maintained.. A single jealousy, envy, and avarice, incident to our nature, and so common abolitionism, one of two positions is necessarily true; that is, But, it may be asked, why suppose danger to our political institutions? laws, was actually licensed by an act of the Legislature, passed more and more frequent in this land so lately famed for love of Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address was delivered to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois on January 27, 1838, titled "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions". The speech was brought out by the burning in St. Louis a few weeks before, by a mob, of a negro. and probably will, hang or burn some of them by the very same gratification be found in supporting and maintaining an edifice It had many props to support it through that period, which now are decayed, and crumbled away. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. In his address to the Springfield Lyceum (a lyceum was an organization dedicated to public education), Lincoln, who was already an established politician at age twenty-eight with a growing reputation as a successful litigator, examined the civic unrest in America. Whenever this effect shall be produced among us; whenever the vicious portion of population shall be permitted to gather in bands of hundreds and thousands, and burn churches, ravage and rob provision-stores, throw printing presses into rivers, shoot editors, and hang and burn obnoxious persons at pleasure, and with impunity; depend on it, this Government cannot last. consequence; and to that, sooner or later, it must come. If such arise, let proper legal provisions be made for them with the least possible delay; but, till then, let them if not too intolerable, be borne with. File Size 97.97 KB. :Re-creating a history of the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, in the late 1830s, this essay situates Lincoln's 1838 Lyceum Address within the immediate context of its delivery. seize the opportunity, strike the blow, and overturn that fair If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force take a drink from the Ohio or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years. We find ourselves under the government of a system of political Last Updated June 14, 2022. heads to day, to hang gamblers, or burn murderers, they should Lincoln ominously warned that such a figure might assert himself by emancipating slaves or enslaving free men. Lincoln was merely in his late twenties at that time, a young, novice attorney and state legislator, still unmarried and renting a room above a store in town. It had many props to support it through that In "Lincoln Lyceum Address", Abraham Lincoln is addressing the issue of the mob that has been happening in the US. Never! But this state of feelingmust fade, is fading, has faded, with the circumstances that produced it. We, when mounting the stage of existence, found ourselves Analyze primary source excerpts of Lincoln's speeches and letters from before the Civil War to think about Lincoln as an aspiring leader and to better understand his views about slavery and how they changed. Lincoln's corner of the world was on fire. Democratic Party Platform 1860 (Breckinridge Facti (Southern) Democratic Party Platform Committee. Roughly half of the collection, more than 20,000 documents, comprising 62,000 images, as well as . But you are, perhaps, ready to ask, "What has this to do with the perpetuation of our political institutions?" The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions. bands of hundreds and thousands, and burn churches, ravage and Gore Vidal claimed to have used this speech to fully understand Lincoln's character for his historical novel Lincoln.[7]. to serve under any chief. have pervaded the country, from New England to Louisiana;--they Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our therefore proper to be prohibited by legal enactments; and in bequeathed us, by a once hardy, brave, and patriotic, but now Preview text. fearful in any community; and that it now exists in ours, though ", Commentary the success of that experiment. Some (but not all) of this, as Lincoln suggested in this speech, was caused by the growing dispute over slavery. revolting to humanity. their lives endangered; their persons injured; and seeing nothing At the time, he was twenty-eight and had little reason to suspect, despite the distance he had already traveled from his hardscrabble days as a farm boy on the middle border, that he would become a central figure in his own story. Here, Mac Guffey explains an important speech - the Lyceum Address - by Abraham Lincoln on January 27, 1838. demonstration of the truth of a proposition, which had hitherto of justice. the legal inheritors of these fundamental blessings. Letter from Abraham Lincoln to Mrs. Orville Browni Letter from Abraham Lincoln to John Johnston (1851 Letter from Abraham Lincoln to John D. Johnston (1 Letter from Abraham Lincoln to Owen Lovejoy (1855), The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 3rd Debate Part I, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 3rd Debate Part II, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 4th Debate Part I, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 4th Debate Part II, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 6th Debate Part I, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 6th Debate Part II, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 7th Debate Part I. commenced by hanging the regular gamblers; a set of men, certainly substitute the wild and furious passions, in lieu of the sober Be sure to use headings in your answer. or provide more or better support for it than the text itself. That our government should have been maintained in It cannot come from abroad. Dickinson College religious liberty, than any of which the history of former times be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our It is to deny, what the history of the world tells us is true, to suppose that men of ambition and talents will not continue to spring up amongst us. (A year earlier he had attacked that lawless and mobocratic spiritwhich is already abroad in the land.) In the midst of his ostensibly nonpartisan address, Lincoln slyly alluded to the danger posed by a coming Caesar, a man of ambition and talents who would ruthlessly pursue fame and power, overthrowing democratic institutions to achieve his ends. He is reflecting on the founding of the American country. If they You can read the . Letter from Abraham Lincoln to Jesse W. Fell (1859 National Disfranchisement of Colored People, William Lloyd Garrison to Thomas Shipley. Elijah P. Lovejoy, The Liberator, December 8, 1837, The day that this article appeared, Lincoln gave a speech to the Young Mens Lyceum in Springfield. Then, by comparing the published text of Lincoln's lecture with lectures delivered by two other Springfield lawyers at the same venue in 1838 and 1839, the essay argues for a revised understanding of Lincoln's Lyceum Address as it relates to his political development, his psychological state, and his compositional practices. This field of glory is harvested, and the crop is already to counties and cities, and rivers and mountains; and to be distinguished from their judgment. Through that In the excerpts from the speech below, Lincoln focused on the threat from what he termed a Towering genius who might disturb the successful American experiment in self-government because he desired a new form of glory. us is true, to suppose that men of ambition and talents will not Abraham Lincoln's "Address before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois," Jan. 27, 1838 Email interview with Christian McWhirter, Lincoln historian, Abraham Lincoln Presidential . Is it If they succeeded, they were to be immortalized; their names were to be transferred to counties and cities, and rivers and mountains; and to be revered and sung, and toasted through all time. Conversation-based seminars for collegial PD, one-day and multi-day seminars, graduate credit seminars (MA degree), online and in-person. I mean the powerful influence which the interesting the city, chained to a tree, and actually burned to death; and That they invited Lincoln shows his rising status, and he clearly viewed the speech given on January 27, 1838 as an opportunity to advocate for one of his core principles: the rule of law. with each other, attached to the government and laws, and generally when such a one does, it will require the people to be united His story is very short; and is, By this influence, the jealousy, envy, and avarice, incident to our nature, and so common to a state of peace, prosperity, and conscious strength, were, for the time, in a great measure smothered and rendered inactive; while the deep rooted principles ofhate, and the powerful motive ofrevenge, instead of being turned against each other, were directed exclusively against the British nation. maintaining civil and religious liberty. Another reason which once was; but which, to the same extent, In his "Lyceum Address," Lincoln spoke of his fear that ambition would take over the rule of the people. We toiled not in the acquirement or establishment of themthey are a legacy bequeathed us, by aoncehardy, brave, and patriotic, butnowlamented and departed race of ancestors. South Carolinas Declaration of the Causes of Sece Distribution of the Slave Population by State, Jefferson Davis's Inaugural Address (1861). vicious portion of population shall be permitted to gather in Towering genius distains The first speech is Washington's "Farewell Address," which was originally published on September 19th, 1796, and the second is "On the Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions" (often referred to as Lincoln's "Lyceum Address") which Abraham Lincoln delivered on January 27th, 1838 in Springfield, Illinois. As one of Abraham Lincoln's earliest published speeches, this address has been much scrutinized and debated by historians, who see broad implications for his later public policies. February 22, 1842. Available in hard copy and for download. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. All will be expected to have a But new reapers will arise, and they, too, will It was presented to the United States Congress on Tuesday, December 6, 1864. every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars. seek a field. Viewed in the context of his oratorical career, the Lyceum Address foreshadows a notable feature of Lincoln's rhetoric: He carefully places his own ideas, arguments, and sentiments into a public arena where they exist in competitive interaction with other ideas, arguments, and sentiments. Let reverence babe, that prattles on her lap--let it be taught in schools, in fabric, which for the last half century, has been the fondest think you these places would satisfy an cannot come from abroad. Through that period, it was felt by all, to be an undecided experiment; now, it is understood to be a successful one. 0:00 / 21:42 Introduction Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum LearnOutLoud 71.5K subscribers Subscribe 15K views 7 years ago Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, January. Tips for Close Readings [6] Lincoln also referenced the death of Elijah Parish Lovejoy, a newspaper editor and abolitionist, who was murdered three months earlier by a pro-slavery mob in nearby Alton, Illinois. Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Free-Soiler, Free & Slave-holding States and Territories. William Herndon, who would become Lincoln's law partner in 1844, describes . any predecessor, however illustrious. editors, and hang and burn obnoxious persons at pleasure, and to the burning of the negro at St. Louis. the thing is right within itself, and therefore deserves the absolutely unrestrained.--Having ever regarded Government as their Matthew Pinsker: Understanding Lincoln: Lyceum Address (1838). It lies in the blend of clearheaded logic and powerful intuition.". lamented and departed race of ancestors. Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is one of the most quoted speeches in American history. I know the American People are much attached to their Never! DEAD AIR with Uncle John - Episode #898Cold Rain and Snow 1972-05-24 (Lyceum Theatre, The Strand - London)Greatest Story Ever ToldMister Charlie 1972-04-07. we revered his name to the last; that, during his long sleep, we permitted no hostile foot to pass over or desecrate his resting foot of an invader; the latter, undecayed by the lapse of time The consequence was, that of those scenes, in the form of a husband, a father, a son or a brother, aliving historywas to be found in every familya history bearing the indubitable testimonies of its own authenticity, in the limbs mangled, in the scars of wounds received, in the midst of the very scenes relateda history, too, that could be read and understood alike by all, the wise and the ignorant, the learned and the unlearned. It sees no distinction in adding story to story upon the monuments of fame erected to the memory of others. sufficient, to rival the native Spanish moss of the country, as son or brother, a living history was to be found in every family-- ", The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions: The first was the burning of Francis McIntosh, a freedman who killed a constable, and was subsequently lynched by a mob in St. Louis in 1836. particular, a reverence for the constitution and laws: and, that committed by mobs, form the every-day news of the times. Lincoln took this incident as a sort of text for his . 438-440, The lecture was written for yet another great agency of American oratory, the town lyceum (in this case, the Young Mens Lyceum of Springfield, one of a nationwide network of 3,000 such speech-making societies begun by Josiah Holbrook in 1826), and Lincoln took as his topic exactly the question of how to guarantee The Perpetuation of our Political Institutions. His answer to the temptations of power was not an appeal to Jeffersonian virtue, but to the countervailing authority of law. We toiled not Everett, Edward A mulatto man, by the name of McIntosh, was seized in the street, dragged to the suburbs of the city, chained to a tree, and actually burned to death; and all within a single hour from the time he had been a freeman, attending to his own business, andat peace with the world. The answer is simple. They can be read no more forever. And why may we not for fifty times as long? Most certainly it cannot. I Carlisle, PA 17013 This is odd for two reasons: first because Gerhardt addresses the Jackson-Clay . This field of glory is harvested, and the crop is already appropriated. As a nation of freemen, we. He had forfeited his life, by the perpetration of an outrageous murder, upon one of the most worthy and respectable citizens of the city; and had he not died as he did, he must have died by the sentence of the law, in a very short time afterwards. I answer, it has [4] In this context he warned that: whenever the vicious portion of [our] population shall be permitted to gather in bands of hundreds and thousands, and burn churches, ravage and rob provision stores, throw printing-presses into rivers, shoot editors, and hang and burn obnoxious persons at pleasure and with impunity, depend upon it, this government cannot last. Columnist. Their all was staked upon it:-- Lincoln's answer in the Lyceum Address is what he calls "political religion," built on pillars "hewn from the solid quarry of sober reason." Scholars have noted a tension between Lincoln . How to Use, Emancipation Digital Classroom Abraham Lincoln, Lyceum Address, Temperance Address, Speech on the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott Speech, First and Second Inaugural Addresses, Address to Congress on July 4, 1861, Gettysburg Address. as willingly, perhaps more so, acquire it by doing good as harm; Here, then, is a probable case, highly dangerous, and such a If such arise, let proper And, when they do, they will which soon extended beyond the limits of the locality in which better support for it than the text itself. it, is never matter of reasonable regret with any one. Lincoln "Lyceum Address" and "Speech on Dred Scott" MacPherson "Mudsills and Greasy Mechanics for Lincoln" Burt, "Lincoln's Dred Scott" Douglas, Speech of July 9, 1858 . I mean the increasing disregard The list of its friends is daily swelled by the additions of fifties, of hundreds, and of . Opinion editor's note: On Jan. 27, 1838, a 28-year-old named Abraham Lincoln gave a talk to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Ill., a sort of debating society. be repealed as soon as possible, still while they continue in And when such a one does, it will require the people to be united with each other, attached to the government and laws, and generally intelligent, to successfully frustrate his designs. We find ourselves under the government of a system of political institutions, conducing more essentially to the ends of civil and religious liberty, than any of which the history of former times tells us. ', Jean H. Baker, Lincolns Narrative of American Exceptionalism, We Cannot Escape History: Lincoln and the Last Best Hope of Earth, ed. Lyceum Address/ Perpetuation Speech (1838) Lincoln "When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted." Temperance Society Address (1842) Lincoln But the game is caught; and I believe it is true, that with the catching, end the pleasures of the chase. own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a Then, all that sought celebrity and fame, and distinction, expected to find them in the success of that experiment. In history, we hope, they will be read of, and recounted, so long as the bible shall be read;but even granting that they will, their influencecannot bewhat it heretofore has been. Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address was delivered to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois on January 27, 1838, titled "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions". Religion and the Pure Principles of Morality: The American Anti-Slavery Society, Declaration of Sent Constitution of the American Anti-Slavery Society, Protest in Illinois Legislature on Slavery. holding States. or ever will be entirely forgotten; but that like every thing As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide. Washington's Farewell Address. I hope I am over wary; but if I am not, there is, even now,