Lincoln and All Men Are Created Equal

In order to understand the political philosophy of Abraham Lincoln one salient fact must be grasped:  Lincoln saw himself as a defender of the truths enunciated in the Declaration of Independence.  To him the phrase “All Men Are Created Equal” was at the very core of the new concept of government that the Founding Fathers labored to bring forth.  In a speech given in Lewistown, Illinois on August, 17, 1858, in the midst of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln addressed why this phrase was placed in the Declaration: