The Statesman II

"According to that profound student of Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, the most difficult task of statesmanship is that of providing, not for the foundation, but for the perpetuation, of political institutions. If the political institutions are the best, to perpetuate them is not only the most difficult, but also the greatest of all the tasks of the statesman."[i]

It is of special significance that Lincoln discussed this in 1838--over twenty years before the Civil War, where he put this idea to the test.

Note, of course, that as important as Lincoln's leadership was in this process of perpetuating the Constitution and spreading its freedom to all inhabitants of the nation, he wasn't the only statesman at work. It took thousands of statesmen and stateswomen to stand for right. 

Today we need millions.