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From a speech at Edwardsville, Illinois
September 11, 1858
What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not our frowning
battlements, our bristling sea coasts, the guns of our war steamers, or the strength of our gallant
and disciplined army. These are not the reliance against the resumption of tyranny in our fair
land. All of them may be turned against our liberties, without making us stronger or weaker for
the struggle. Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms.
Our defense is the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all
lands, every where.