Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.

As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own, and his children's liberty.

Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and Let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.


- Abraham Lincoln, January 27, 1838
  Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Looking back at Lincoln: On March 17, 1865



On this day in 1865, John Wilkes Booth failed in his attempt to kidnap Abraham Lincoln enroute to a hospital near the Soldiers' Home.

On March 17th, Booth heard that Lincoln would be attending a performance of the play Still Waters Run Deep at a hospital near the Soldier's Home where the Lincoln family often stayed.

Booth set up his kidnapping team along the road that Lincoln would have traveled to reach the hospital, planning to snatch him as he passed by -- of course, Lincoln never appeared.

Booth later learned that Lincoln's plans had changed; and that he had instead attended a reception at the National Hotel - the very hotel in which Booth was staying.

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