“Can we, as a nation, continue together permanently—forever—half slave, and half free?”
Judge George Robertson, a professor of law at Transylvania College in Lexington, Kentucky, called at the office of Lincoln and Herndon during a visit to Springfield in July 1855. Lincoln was in court in Chicago at the time, so Robertson left an inscribed copy of his published speeches and writings: Scrap Book on Law and Politics. In this polite letter of appreciation, Lincoln takes issue only with Robertson’s belief in the peaceful extinction of slavery. Three years later Lincoln would repeat his closing remarks to great effect in his “House Divided” speech.
Judge George Robertson, a professor of law at Transylvania College in Lexington, Kentucky, called at the office of Lincoln and Herndon during a visit to Springfield in July 1855. Lincoln was in court in Chicago at the time, so Robertson left an inscribed copy of his published speeches and writings: <em>Scrap Book on Law and Politics</em>. In this polite letter of appreciation, Lincoln takes issue only with Robertson’s belief in the peaceful extinction of slavery. Three years later Lincoln would repeat his closing remarks to great effect in his “House Divided” speech.