QuoteProject
The people know their rights, and they are never slow to assert and maintain them when they are invaded.
Abraham Lincoln
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Interpretation

What this quote means

People are aware of their rights and will act quickly to defend them when threatened.

This quote by Abraham Lincoln emphasizes the importance of public awareness regarding personal rights and liberties. It suggests that when individuals understand their rights, they become empowered and ready to take action against any infringement, showcasing a collective sense of courage and determination to protect what is just and fair in society.

Themes

RightsEmpowermentDefenseCourageAction

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech advocating for civil rights.

More from Abraham Lincoln

I am like a man so busy in letting rooms in one end of his house, that he can't stop to put out the fire that is burning the other.
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Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.
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Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
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How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
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For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country's cause. The highest merit, then is due to the soldier.
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And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear, and with manly hearts.
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