--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The people will save their government, if…" description: "\"The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.\" — Abraham Lincoln" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/abraham-lincoln-88_allow_the-people-will-save-their-government-if_2985596.png" --- # The people will save their government, if the government… ![“The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/abraham-lincoln-88_allow_the-people-will-save-their-government-if_2985596.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/abraham-lincoln-88_allow_the-people-will-save-their-government-if_2985596.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/abraham-lincoln-88_allow_the-people-will-save-their-government-if_2985596.png) > “The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.” [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. People will rescue government if allowed. **In simple terms:** Citizens can save government. Key Takeaway Encourage civic participation. Themes citizenship government responsibility empowerment Mood patriotic hopeful Type political inspirational When to use this quote - voting - community organizing - public service Key Concepts political theory history Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens help? - What prevents participation? A Different Perspective Requires active engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allow/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Allow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-allow-1986706/) [Government Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-government/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Save](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-save-697285/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Save Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/save-government-1603672/) ## Related quotes > [I shall not do more than I can, and I shall do all I can to save the government, which is my sworn duty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-shall-not-do-more-than-i-can-and-i-shall-do-all-i-can-to-save-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“But the larger irony is that now Maliki is begging for a return of American hard power to save his government from those killers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-the-larger-irony-is-that-now-maliki-is-begging-for-a-return-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Supposedly, the government is in the process of saving us from terrorists. No one has quite figured out who is going to save us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-rose/supposedly-the-government-is-in-the-process-of-saving-us-from/) [Doug Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-rose/) > [Government should allow people to go out and do the things Americans have always done, create jobs and prosperity. And America's role in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/government-should-allow-people-to-go-out-and-do-the-things-americans/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [Listen, in the same way that politics and government allow people to engage in large issues, media does the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy-jr/listen-in-the-same-way-that-politics-and-government-allow-people-to/) [John F. Kennedy Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy-jr/) > [Government should allow persons to engage in whatever conduct they want to, no matter how deviant or abnormal it may be, so long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-adam-bedau/government-should-allow-persons-to-engage-in-whatever-conduct-they/) [Hugo Adam Bedau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-adam-bedau/) > [Perhaps it is time to be more careful what we ask government to do, and where we allow it to become part of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/perhaps-it-is-time-to-be-more-careful-what-we-ask-government-to-do/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [“There's a lesson in it for would-be heroes. The people you save won't celebrate you. They'll gather the wood and cheer while you burn".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-berry/there-s-a-lesson-in-it-for-would-be-heroes-the-people-you-save-won-t/) [Julie Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-berry/) > [Heroes aren't always people who save others in the normal sense. Sometimes they're people who keep trying even when things seem impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/heroes-aren-t-always-people-who-save-others-in-the-normal-sense/) [Jeff Vandermeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [Other people save lives, but you rescued my soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/other-people-save-lives-but-you-rescued-my-soul/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Two drowning people can't save each other. All they can do is drag each other down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carsten-jensen/two-drowning-people-can-t-save-each-other-all-they-can-do-is-drag/) [Carsten Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carsten-jensen/) > [ “\[I\] get \[yo\]ur point about how people can\['\]t save each other for real. \[B\]ut I still think we need stories that tell us we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-egan-gibson/i-get-yo-ur-point-about-how-people-can-t-save-each-other-for-real-b/) [Tanya Egan Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-egan-gibson/) > [“There is more than enough for everyone. Any idea of lack and so its experience comes from fear. Fear powers greed, which encourages people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-zernoff/there-is-more-than-enough-for-everyone-any-idea-of-lack-and-so-its/) [Raphael Zernoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-zernoff/) > [I am the people's politician. If the day should ever come when the people can't save me, I'll know I'm finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-chisholm/i-am-the-people-s-politician-if-the-day-should-ever-come-when-the/) [Shirley Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-chisholm/) > [Sometimes people save the best part of themselves for their art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-hawke/sometimes-people-save-the-best-part-of-themselves-for-their-art/) [Ethan Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-hawke/) ## 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 Allow quotes > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Please don't allow anyone to make you feel less than what you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/please-don-t-allow-anyone-to-make-you-feel-less-than-what-you-are/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [Verbs allow you to communicate a story in a much more converged or involuntary way for a reader. The verbs allow you to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/verbs-allow-you-to-communicate-a-story-in-a-much-more-converged-or/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Markets are designed to allow individuals to look after their private needs and to pursue profit. It's really a great invention and I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/markets-are-designed-to-allow-individuals-to-look-after-their-private/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Nothing has power over you unless you allow it. No matter what happens, you can choose what and how to think, act, and speak!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-has-power-over-you-unless-you-allow-it-no-matter-what-happens/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you don't allow people to contribute, to offer their point of view, or to criticize what has been put before them, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/if-you-don-t-allow-people-to-contribute-to-offer-their-point-of-view/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [While we welcome people of all faiths in America we cannot be so naive as to expect all countries to do the same. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-huffington/while-we-welcome-people-of-all-faiths-in-america-we-cannot-be-so/) [Michael Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-huffington/) > [“Allow yourself some happiness, so that I can be a part of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montgomery-mahaffey/allow-yourself-some-happiness-so-that-i-can-be-a-part-of-it/) [Montgomery Mahaffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montgomery-mahaffey/) > [I've cosponsored legislation to establish a lend-lease program to simplify bureaucratic barriers and allow a speedier transfer of U.S. military equipment to Ukraine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/i-ve-cosponsored-legislation-to-establish-a-lend-lease-program-to/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [“Sometimes life doesn't allow us to be free to fly wherever we'd like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elana-johnson/sometimes-life-doesn-t-allow-us-to-be-free-to-fly-wherever-we-d-like/) [Elana Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elana-johnson/) > [I am that which I am, and I am willing to allow all others to be that which they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/i-am-that-which-i-am-and-i-am-willing-to-allow-all-others-to-be-that/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [By letting go, you allow everything to find it's rightful place. Once free, everything finds its way home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-brown/by-letting-go-you-allow-everything-to-find-it-s-rightful-place-once/) [Leon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-brown/) > [As long as a man's heart beats, as long as a man's flesh quivers, I do not allow that a being gifted with thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/as-long-as-a-man-s-heart-beats-as-long-as-a-man-s-flesh-quivers-i-do/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [Allow yourself to graduate, every five years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/allow-yourself-to-graduate-every-five-years/) [Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/) > [“A man will only do what you allow him to do,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kennedi-dior/a-man-will-only-do-what-you-allow-him-to-do/) [Kennedi Dior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kennedi-dior/) [Browse all 1,065 Allow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allow/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Lincoln" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-people-will-save-their-government-if-the-government-itself-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Allow" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-people-will-save-their-government-if-the-government-itself-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/abraham-lincoln-88_allow_the-people-will-save-their-government-if_2985596.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/abraham-lincoln-88_allow_the-people-will-save-their-government-if_2985596.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/abraham-lincoln-88_allow_the-people-will-save-their-government-if_2985596.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.” — 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": "The people will save their government,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-people-will-save-their-government-if-the-government-itself-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-people-will-save-their-government-if-the-government-itself-will/#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 } } ] } ```