“I am young and unknown to many of you; I was born and have ever remained in the most humble walks of life. I have no wealthy or popular relations or friends to recommend me.”
Wording, attribution and rights checked against retrieved source text; not an independent editorial review.
Verification
AttributedRecorded by a reliable secondary source; exact wording may differ.
Wording, source authorship and rights checked against retrieved text; not an independent editorial review.
Live wording check · 2026-10-27
Author: Abraham Lincoln the subjects of which I have treated, I have spoken as I have thought. I may be wrong in regard to any or all of them; but, holding it a sound maxim that it is better only to be sometimes right than at all times wrong, so soon as I discover my opinions to be erroneous I shall be ready to renounce them. Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say, for one, that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow-men by rendering myself worthy of their esteem. How far I shall succeed in gratifying this ambition is yet to be developed. I am young and unknown to many of you; I was born and have ever remained in the most humble walks of life. I have no wealthy or popular relations or friends to recommend me. My case is thrown exclusively upon the independent voters of the county, and if elected, they will have conferred a favour upon me for which I shall be unremitting in my labours to compensate. But if the good people in their wisdom shall see fit to keep me in the background, I have been too familiar with disappointments to be very much chagrined. Your friend and fellow-citizen, A. LINCOLN. _Letter to Colonel Robert Allen. June 21, 1836_ Dear Colonel, I am told that during my absence last week you passed through this place, and stated publicly that you were in possession of a fact or facts whi Public domain in the USA.Read evidence
Source
- Title
- Speeches & Letters of Abraham Lincoln, 1832-1865
- Type
- Public-domain primary text · Primary source
- Edition date
- 1907
- Location
- Lincoln's First Public Speech
- Held by
- J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd
Context (AI)
Lincoln introduces his circumstances to voters unfamiliar with him.
What it means (AI)
Provides Lincoln's own account of his humble beginnings and lack of influential connections.
Cite this source
- Bibliography entry
- Lincoln, Abraham. (1907). Speeches & Letters of Abraham Lincoln, 1832-1865. J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/14721/pg14721.txt
- Quotation citation
- Lincoln (1907, Lincoln's First Public Speech)
- In-text citation
- (Lincoln, 1907, Lincoln's First Public Speech)
Check citations against your institution's style guide.
Citation draft only — confirm wording, speaker and the underlying source before submitting schoolwork.
Report a problem
Provenance: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/14721/pg14721.txt