Quotes · Quote card
Quotation from The Lincoln-Douglas Debates by Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas
“In this and like communities, public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail ; without it nothing can succeed. Consequently he who moulds public sentiment, goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions.”
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, First Joint Debate, Ottawa, Lincoln's reply, closing section (Political Debates Between Lincoln and Douglas (Columbus: Follett, Foster, 1860), Internet Archive OCR text)
Lincoln explains why Douglas's influence on opinion, in support of the Dred Scott decision, matters more than any single law.
Citation: "In this and like communities, public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail ; without it nothing can succeed. Consequently he who moulds public sentiment, goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions." — Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, First Joint Debate, Ottawa, Lincoln's reply, closing section (Political Debates Between Lincoln and Douglas (Columbus: Follett, Foster, 1860), Internet Archive OCR text). (id lincoln-douglas-debates-q3)
Virtues: Prudence
Portrait: Abraham Lincoln O-77 matte collodion print, Alexander Gardner, Public domain.
