Abraham Lincoln, the Declaration of Independence, and the Enduring Principles of Self-Government
Abstract
Many Americans over the past nearly 250 years have stood up to defend the Declaration of Independence, but few have done so with as deep an understanding and as clear an expression of its political significance for the governance of a free people as Abraham Lincoln. This brief exploration employs selected speeches from the life of the sixteenth U.S. president to illustrate how he came to be such an articulate exponent of the principles of self-government. At a time when some have suggested the country is more divided than it has been since the 1850s and subsets of the body politic seem prepared once again to resort to bullets rather than ballots to get their way, contemporary Americans may learn anew from Lincolns inspiration for the United States to live up to the aspirations of its Founders.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 22, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1211034
Entities
People
- Michael D. Dovilla
Organizations
- Naval War College