“Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we, as a people, can be engaged in.”

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Author: Abraham Lincoln From an Address to an Indiana Regiment, March 17, 1865 His Last Public Address, April 11, 1865 APPENDIX Anecdotes PUBLISHERS' NOTE For permission to use extracts from "The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln," edited by John G. Nicolay and John Hay, the Publishers wish to thank The Century Company. They also wish to thank Mr. William H. Lambert, the owner of the copyright, and Mrs. Sarah A. Whitney for their courtesy in allowing them to publish "Lincoln's Lost Speech." LINCOLN'S SPEECHES AND LETTERS _Lincoln's First Public Speech. From an Address to the People of Sangamon County. March 9, 1832_ Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we, as a people, can be engaged in. That every man may receive at least a moderate education, and thereby be enabled to read the histories of his own and other countries, by which he may duly appreciate the value of our free institutions, appears to be an object of vital importance, even on this account alone, to say nothing of the advantages and satisfaction to be derived from all being able to read the Scriptures and other works, both of a religious and moral nature, for themselves. For my part, I desire to see the time when education--and by its means morality, sobriety, enterprise, and industry--shall become much more gener Public domain in the USA.