As a nation we began by declaring that 'all men are created equal.' We now practically read it 'all men are created equal, except negroes.'"
-Abraham Lincoln, The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, Volume II (1905)
The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, Volume II (1843-1858) (1905) by Abraham Lincoln was edited by Arthur Brooks Lapsley and includes a variety of personal and political writing, speeches, a eulogy on Henry Clay, as well as a short autobiography. His letter to pro-slavery friend Joshua Speed written in 1855 is rich with his anti-slavery sentiments which fueled the later Lincoln-Douglas debates found in The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, Volume III Lincoln-Douglas Debates I (also available from Cosimo Classics). These primary source documents are a must-read for fans of Lincoln and nineteenth century history.