For those of you that are keeping up with the BLOG, here is the second part of the inscription on the statue of President Lincoln in Lincoln Square in downtown Manchester......
Extract of a letter to the working people of Manchester 19th January 1863
...I know and deeply deplore the sufferings which the working people of Manchester and in all Europe all called to endure in this crisis. It has been often and studiously represented that the attempt to overthrow this Government which was built on the foundation of human rights, and to substitute for it, one which should rest exclusively on the basis of slavery was likely to obtain the favor of Europe. Through the action of disloyal citizens, the working people of Europe have been subjected to a severe trial for the purpose of their sanction to that attempt. Under these circumstances I cannot but abide your decisive utterances upon the question as an instance of sublime Christian heroism which has not been surpassed in any age or in any country. It is indeed an energetic and re-inspiring assurance of the inherent truth and of the ultimate and universal triumph of justice, humanity and freedom... ...I hail this interchange of sentiments, therefore, as an augury that, whatever else may happen, whatever misfortune may befall your country or my own, the peace and friendship which now exists between the two nations will be, as it shall be my desire to make them, perpetual.
Abraham Lincoln
2 comments:
Hi! I like how you put the letter on the Blog. One question, what does Abe mean in his letter?
Hi Kate! Now, your Dad is the history expert in our family, but I think that President Lincoln is praising the people of Manchester for standing up for human rights (that is, the abolishment of slavery) in the face of the their own sufferings and in an instance where other nations in Europe might have liked to have see the Civil War divide our nation and diminish its power. The reason I posted the letter from the citizens of Manchester and President Lincoln's response is that I thought it was a great lesson for all of us in the worldwide impact of our actions. Manchester, at the time of the Civil War was the world's leading textile manufacturer. When they could not import cotton from the souther states, their factories could not produce fabric and the workers did not get paid - there was a famine here for several years. Yet, their own sufferings were secondary to the greater cause of Human Rights. President Lincoln also mentions the existence of a long-standing friendship between the United Kingdom and the United States - a friendship that has endured and still exists today.
So - that is my *long* answer to your short question. See what your Dad thinks. ;-)
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