Letter to a Citizen of Kentucky, an excerpt Executive Mansion, Washington,
April 4, 1864.
A. G. Hodges, Esq., Frankfort, Ky.
My Dear Sir:
You ask me to put in writing the substance of what I verbally stated the other day, in your presence, to Governor Bramlette and Senator
Dixon. It was about as follows:
am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong nothing is wrong. I cannot remember when I did not so
never understood that the Presidency conferred upon me
think and feel; and yet l have
an unrestricted right to act officially in this judgment and feeling. It was in the oath !
took that I would to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. I could not take the office without
taking the oath. Nor was it in my view that I might take the oath to get power, and break the oath in using the power.
I understood, too, that in ordinary civil administration this oath even forbade me
to practically indulge my primary abstract judgment on
the moral question of slavery. I had publicly declared this many times and in many ways; and
in mere
aver that, to this day I have done no official act
deference to my abstract judgment and feeling on slavery. I did understand, however, that my oath to preserve the Constitution
best of my ability imposed upon me the duty of preserving, by every indispensable means, that government, that nation, of which that
to the
Constitution was the organic law. Was
it possible to lose the nation, and yet preserve the Constitution?
By general law, life and limb must be protected; yet often a limb must be amputated
to
limb. I felt that measures, otherwise unconstitutional, might become
save a life, but a life is never wisely given to
save
through the preservation of the nation. Right or
lawful by becoming indispensable to the preservation of the Constitution
to preserve the Constitution, if, to save slavery, or any minor matter, I should permit the wreck of government, country, and wrong, I assumed this ground, and now avow it. I could not feel that to Constitution altogether. the best of my ability l!
had even tried
When, early in the war, necessity. When, a little later, General Cameron, then Secretary of War, suggested the General Fremont attempted military emancipation, I forbade it, because I did not then think it an indispensable
arming of the blacks, I objected, because I did not yet
think it an indispensable necessity. When, still later, General Hunter attempted military emancipation, I forbade it,
the indispensable necessity had
because I did not yet think
come. When, in March and May and July, 1862, I made earnest and successive appeals to
favor compensated emancipation, believed the indispensable necessity for military emancipation and
the Border States to
arming the blacks would come, unless
averted by that measure. They declined the proposition; and I was, in my best judgment, driven to the alternative of elther surrendering the
Union, and with it the Constitution, or
of laying strong hand upon the colored element. I chose the latter.
than loss; but of this I was not entirely confident...
In choosing it, hoped for greater gain
Yours truly,
A. Lincoln
Use context to determine the meaning of the phrase in bold.
(4 points)