![]() In reading the Lyceum Address, we may find Lincoln’s diagnosis more thorough and helpful than the treatment he advised. He deepened his diagnosis in a speech he gave four years later (See The Temperance Address). These reflections in turn drew him into an insightful assessment of the problem of preserving free government. ![]() In doing so, he was led to reflect on the character of both the people and those ambitious to lead them and have the honor and power of office. He addressed it as a threat to the perpetuation of free government, explaining the various ways in which it challenged the survival of such government. In his address to the Springfield Lyceum (a lyceum was an organization dedicated to public education), Lincoln, who was twenty-eight at the time, examined the civic unrest in America. Some, but not all of this, as Lincoln suggested in this speech, was caused by the growing dispute over slavery. Some historians claim that more riots and mob actions occurred during that decade than in any other decade in American history. In the 1830s America experienced a high degree of civil disorder. As they respect civil disobedience, therefore, they also prize law and order. At the same time, Americans have recognized that without respect for the law, no society can prosper or even survive. This founding has given rise to an independent streak among Americans that has led to some tolerance for protest and civil disobedience. One might say, then, that America was founded on a willingness to disregard the law. ![]() America was founded on a right of revolution, a right to resist a tyrannical government and replace it with a better one. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |