Abraham Lincoln’s expression of devotion to the rule of law is often quoted: “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.”
What’s less quoted is the rejection by Abraham Lincoln, in the very same speech, in January 1837, of the principle of civil disobedience: “When, I so pressingly urge a strict observance of all the laws, let me not be understood as saying there are no bad laws, or that grievances may not arise for the redress of which no legal provisions have been made. I mean to say no such thing. But I do mean to say that although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still, while they continue in force, for the sake of example they should be religiously observed.”
This idea places Lincoln on the opposite side of a political divide from Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King.
Which side are you on?
