--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I will either be America's greatest…" description: "\"I will either be America's greatest president or its last.\" — Abraham Lincoln" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c0/abraham-lincoln-88_america_i-will-either-be-america-s-greatest-pres_1795413.png" --- # I will either be America's greatest president or its last. ![“I will either be America's greatest president or its last.” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c0/abraham-lincoln-88_america_i-will-either-be-america-s-greatest-pres_1795413.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c0/abraham-lincoln-88_america_i-will-either-be-america-s-greatest-pres_1795413.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c0/abraham-lincoln-88_america_i-will-either-be-america-s-greatest-pres_1795413.png) > “I will either be America's greatest president or its last.” [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lincoln claimed he would be either the greatest or the last American president. **In simple terms:** He saw his legacy as either monumental or terminal. Key Takeaway Strive for lasting, positive impact. Themes leadership legacy politics ambition history Mood inspirational reflective Type historical political When to use this quote - political campaigns - policy decisions - public service - historical analysis Key Concepts Greatness historical judgment political risk Questions to Reflect On - What defines a "great" president? - How can leaders prepare for potential legacy risks? A Different Perspective Greatness is subjective and can be undermined by unforeseen events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Greatest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-greatest/) [Badass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/badass/) [Greatest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest/) [Greatest President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-president-1402303/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) ## Related quotes > [I would rank George Washington as America's greatest president, but he only had to defeat what was then the world's greatest military power with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/i-would-rank-george-washington-as-america-s-greatest-president-but-he/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [I do have to say that I think that President Obama is the greatest President in the history of all of our Presidents, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-leary/i-do-have-to-say-that-i-think-that-president-obama-is-the-greatest/) [Denis Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-leary/) > [In our government-controlled schools we are taught that Lincoln was our greatest president because his war ended slavery and saved the Union. As usual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-maybury/in-our-government-controlled-schools-we-are-taught-that-lincoln-was/) [Richard J. Maybury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-maybury/) > [“Ronald Reagan, the greatest president that ever lived, he had a quote that sums this up nicely: If it takes a bloodbath, let’s get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-sigler/ronald-reagan-the-greatest-president-that-ever-lived-he-had-a-quote/) [Scott Sigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-sigler/) > [There is a great overlap of tragedy that played out through the generations of the Lincolns. That, coupled with the idea that many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beschloss/there-is-a-great-overlap-of-tragedy-that-played-out-through-the/) [Michael Beschloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beschloss/) > [Franklin Roosevelt ran on a balanced budget in 1932, and the greatest president, certainly, of the 20th century. So the idea that you lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-shields/franklin-roosevelt-ran-on-a-balanced-budget-in-1932-and-the-greatest/) [Mark Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-shields/) > [Bill Clinton is the greatest president of my lifetime. Period.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/bill-clinton-is-the-greatest-president-of-my-lifetime-period/) [Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/) > [I may not have been the greatest president, but I've had the most fun eight years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/i-may-not-have-been-the-greatest-president-but-i-ve-had-the-most-fun/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Ronald Reagan was the greatest president of the twentieth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/ronald-reagan-was-the-greatest-president-of-the-twentieth-century/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Elijah Cummings said, "you'll be the greatest president in the history of, but you know what, I'll take that also, but that you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/elijah-cummings-said-you-ll-be-the-greatest-president-in-the-history/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Bill Clinton is the greatest president of the 20th century because I played touch football with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/bill-clinton-is-the-greatest-president-of-the-20th-century-because-i/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [Nothing is going to change the fact that I believe Ronald Reagan is the greatest president in my lifetime - may well be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-north/nothing-is-going-to-change-the-fact-that-i-believe-ronald-reagan-is/) [Oliver North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-north/) > [We became a congresswoman, a stay-at-home mom, a filmmaker, and a journalist. And Lino and I taught our children that they could rise to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-degette/we-became-a-congresswoman-a-stay-at-home-mom-a-filmmaker-and-a/) [Diana DeGette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-degette/) > [ \[On Hollywood:\] America's greatest achievement. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/on-hollywood-america-s-greatest-achievement/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [God knows America would be the greatest again if she operated like the Nugent family. No takers, no whiners, no gangsters, no dopers, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/god-knows-america-would-be-the-greatest-again-if-she-operated-like/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) ## More by Abraham Lincoln > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If you wish to be a lawyer, attach no consequence to the place you are in, or the person you are with; but get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-you-wish-to-be-a-lawyer-attach-no-consequence-to-the-place-you-are/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [As we keep or break the Sabbath Day we nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope by which man rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/as-we-keep-or-break-the-sabbath-day-we-nobly-save-or-meanly-lose-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tell-the-truth-and-you-won-t-have-so-much-to-remember/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [With high hope for the future, no prediction is ventured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/with-high-hope-for-the-future-no-prediction-is-ventured/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I am glad to see that a system of labor prevails under which laborers can strike when they want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-glad-to-see-that-a-system-of-labor-prevails-under-which-laborers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-that-man-i-must-get-to-know-him-better/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and to the young, it comes with bitterest agony because it takes them unawares.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-this-sad-world-of-ours-sorrow-comes-to-all-and-to-the-young-it/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am. None who would do more to preserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-man-does-not-live-who-is-more-devoted-to-peace-than-i-am-none-who/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Explore all 1,437 Abraham Lincoln quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/) [Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/) > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) [Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I will either be America's greatest president or its last.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Lincoln" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-will-either-be-america-s-greatest-president-or-its-last/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-will-either-be-america-s-greatest-president-or-its-last/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c0/abraham-lincoln-88_america_i-will-either-be-america-s-greatest-pres_1795413.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c0/abraham-lincoln-88_america_i-will-either-be-america-s-greatest-pres_1795413.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c0/abraham-lincoln-88_america_i-will-either-be-america-s-greatest-pres_1795413.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I will either be America's greatest president or its last.” — Abraham Lincoln", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Abraham Lincoln", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I will either be America's greatest...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-will-either-be-america-s-greatest-president-or-its-last/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-will-either-be-america-s-greatest-president-or-its-last/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```