At the National Lincoln Sesquicentennial Dinner, February 11, 1959, President Eisenhower gave a few remarks about Abraham Lincoln. The gala dinner was held on the eve of the Joint Session of Congress commemorating the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth.  The event was held at the Statler Hotel in Washington. The President’s remarks served as the beginning of Lincoln festivites that would occur across the nation in that year. The following is an excerpt of the President’s speech:

Further on, Eisenhower said: “…Lincoln fought for union and liberty” and “he always insisted that ‘the struggle of today is not altogether for today- it is for a vast future also.’ That the spirit of Lincoln be close at hand as we meet each successive challenge to freedom is the earnest hope of all Americans-indeed it is the hope of freedom’s sentinels wherever they stand.”

President Eisenhower’s words still ring true today. May we be guided always by the “spirit of Lincoln.”