frame Constitution
no man hold power bring this
oppression on us
Adapted from a passage in a letter from Abraham Lincoln to William Herndon, dated Feb. 15, 1848, where Mr. Lincoln writes:
Kings had always been involving and impoverishing their people in wars, pretending generally, if not always, that the good of the people was the object.
This, our convention understood to be the most oppressive of all kingly oppressions and they resolved to so frame the Constitution that no one man should hold the power of bringing this oppression upon us.
Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 1 [1824-Aug. 28, 1848]. In the digital collection Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/lincoln1. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 1, 2026.
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