“Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation, whenever…”

“Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so, whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose, and you allow him to make war at pleasure.”

— Abraham Lincoln

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Live wording check · 2026-10-24

Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation, whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion, and you allow him to do so, whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose, and you allow him to make war at pleasure. Citation: Letter, while US Congressman, to his friend and law-partner William H. Herndon, opposing the Mexican-American War (15 February 1848) Listed on https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln (CC BY-SA)

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Title: Wikiquote: Abraham Lincoln
Type: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA) · Secondary source

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Bibliography entry: Lincoln, Abraham. (n.d.). Wikiquote: Abraham Lincoln. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln
Quotation citation: Abraham Lincoln (n.d.)
In-text citation: (Abraham Lincoln, n.d.)

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Provenance: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln