--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig…" description: "\"Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. As a whole, the Whigs looked upon banks and corporations as a more effici..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/allen-c-guelzo-17586_democrat_remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig_6283.jpg" --- # Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than… ![“Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. As a whole, the Whigs looked upon banks and corporations as a more efficient means of development; the Jacksonian Democrats thought they were the tools of the devil, but Whigs like Lincoln disagreed. During his…” quote by Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/allen-c-guelzo-17586_democrat_remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig_6283.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/allen-c-guelzo-17586_democrat_remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig_6283.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a9/allen-c-guelzo-17586_democrat_remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig_6283.jpg) > “Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. As a whole, the Whigs looked upon banks and corporations as a more efficient means of development; the Jacksonian Democrats thought they were the tools of the devil, but Whigs like Lincoln disagreed. During his presidency, Lincoln favored the re-construction of a national financial system, and his most important 'internal improvement' project was the Pacific railroad.” [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lincoln’s political identity was shaped by Whig ideals, emphasizing institutional development over populist distrust of finance, leading him to champion national infrastructure and a stable banking system. **In simple terms:** Lincoln prioritized economic modernization over partisan labels. Key Takeaway Whig influence guided his infrastructure agenda. Themes Political identity Economic development Infrastructure Party evolution Historical reinterpretation Mood Reflective Analytical Historical Type Historical Political Policy When to use this quote - Presidential decision‑making - Policy debates on banks - Infrastructure planning - Historical analysis of party shifts Key Concepts Whig ideology Banking policy Railroad expansion National finance Practical Applications - Designing modern fiscal frameworks - Strategic infrastructure investment Questions to Reflect On - How does party ideology shape policy beyond labels? - What lessons does Lincoln’s approach offer for today’s infrastructure debates? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abraham lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abraham-lincoln/) [Democrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democrat/) [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Financial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Lincoln Whig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lincoln-whig-313488/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican/) [Republican Whigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican-whigs-313489/) [Whig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whig-313490/) [Whigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whigs/) ## Related quotes > [The Whig interpretation of history ... is the tendency in many historians to write on the side of Protestants and Whigs, to praise revolutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-butterfield/the-whig-interpretation-of-history-is-the-tendency-in-many-historians/) [Herbert Butterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-butterfield/) > [The parties of Whig and Tory are those of nature. They exist in all countries, whether called by these names or by those of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-parties-of-whig-and-tory-are-those-of-nature-they-exist-in-all/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I suppose I've been interested in Abraham Lincoln for almost as long as I can remember. My first Lincoln book was the Classics Illustrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/i-suppose-i-ve-been-interested-in-abraham-lincoln-for-almost-as-long/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Abraham Lincoln did have intellectual instincts, a tremendous curiosity on a broad range of subjects, and a near-photographic memory for what he read. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/abraham-lincoln-did-have-intellectual-instincts-a-tremendous/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [It's often said that leadership is the art of getting people to do what you want, and making them think it's what they want.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/it-s-often-said-that-leadership-is-the-art-of-getting-people-to-do/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [What Abraham Lincoln had to face was a culturally and politically cohesive bloc of states comprising half the country, refusing to discuss even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/what-abraham-lincoln-had-to-face-was-a-culturally-and-politically/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“One voice was raised in dissent. A Springfield lawyer, a former member of Congress and longtime Whig named Abraham Lincoln, took up Douglas’s defense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/one-voice-was-raised-in-dissent-a-springfield-lawyer-a-former-member/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [It would be pleasant to believe that some of Lincoln's DNA is actively swimming around in somebody's soup, but all the evidence is against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/it-would-be-pleasant-to-believe-that-some-of-lincoln-s-dna-is/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Corporate organization in American business and commerce was already well under way by the time Abraham Lincoln became president. But all the evidence from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/corporate-organization-in-american-business-and-commerce-was-already/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [When I need to stretch my legs, I can walk across the street to the museum and relax among the illustrations of Abraham Lincoln's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/when-i-need-to-stretch-my-legs-i-can-walk-across-the-street-to-the/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Abraham Lincoln did speak about keeping the man before the dollar, but he was talking at that moment about slavery, and referring to keeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/abraham-lincoln-did-speak-about-keeping-the-man-before-the-dollar-but/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [The best one-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln is still Benjamin Thomas's 1952 biography. David Donald's 1995 biography is a close second, and close enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/the-best-one-volume-biography-of-abraham-lincoln-is-still-benjamin/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [I don't know that there has ever been a time when Abraham Lincoln didn't stand head-and-shoulders above all other presidents in the historians' eye.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/i-don-t-know-that-there-has-ever-been-a-time-when-abraham-lincoln/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“Bleeding Kansas and the Caning of Charles Sumner   The reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act was intense, and in many ways violent. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-t-stewart/bleeding-kansas-and-the-caning-of-charles-sumner-the-reaction-to-the/) [Lance T. Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-t-stewart/) > [I have written on all sorts of subjects... yet I have no enemies; except indeed all the Whigs, all the Tories, and all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/i-have-written-on-all-sorts-of-subjects-yet-i-have-no-enemies-except/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More by Allen C. Guelzo > [Abraham Lincoln would have been happy to have solved the slavery problem by compensation - in fact, drew up a gradual, compensated emancipation plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/abraham-lincoln-would-have-been-happy-to-have-solved-the-slavery/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [I suppose I've been interested in Abraham Lincoln for almost as long as I can remember. My first Lincoln book was the Classics Illustrated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/i-suppose-i-ve-been-interested-in-abraham-lincoln-for-almost-as-long/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [The one who pursues revenge should dig two graves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/the-one-who-pursues-revenge-should-dig-two-graves/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Patriotism without criticism has no head; criticism without patriotism has no heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/patriotism-without-criticism-has-no-head-criticism-without-patriotism/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“Men who are industrious, and sober, and honest in the pursuit of their own interests should after a while accumulate capital, and after that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/men-who-are-industrious-and-sober-and-honest-in-the-pursuit-of-their/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“The question is simply this: Can a negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country, and sold as slaves, become a member of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/the-question-is-simply-this-can-a-negro-whose-ancestors-were-imported/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“have got Lee just where I want him; he must fight me on my own ground.” So he waited to see what would happen—which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/have-got-lee-just-where-i-want-him-he-must-fight-me-on-my-own-ground/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“On the side of the Union,” Lincoln said, it is a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form, and substance of government, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/on-the-side-of-the-union-lincoln-said-it-is-a-struggle-for/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Corporations did not achieve the scale we normally associate with them until the 1880s; but it's still hard to imagine that Abraham Lincoln would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/corporations-did-not-achieve-the-scale-we-normally-associate-with/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“It seems only human nature to hang the label irrational on what we do not understand, since it is easy for us to assume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/it-seems-only-human-nature-to-hang-the-label-irrational-on-what-we-do/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“Lincoln was “the first great man that I talked with in the United States freely who in no single instance reminded me of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/lincoln-was-the-first-great-man-that-i-talked-with-in-the-united/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“And so Jefferson wrote the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which organized the new territories of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin so that slavery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/and-so-jefferson-wrote-the-northwest-ordinance-of-1787-which/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“The struggle of the Union and Confederate economies to supply and support their armies thus became a reflection of the prewar antagonism between liberal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/the-struggle-of-the-union-and-confederate-economies-to-supply-and/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [It is possible to have pardon without forgiveness-a murderer can be pardoned by the governor, but that does not mean the victim's family has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/it-is-possible-to-have-pardon-without-forgiveness-a-murderer-can-be/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [The best one-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln is still Benjamin Thomas's 1952 biography. David Donald's 1995 biography is a close second, and close enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/the-best-one-volume-biography-of-abraham-lincoln-is-still-benjamin/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) [Explore all 36 Allen C. Guelzo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) ## More Abraham lincoln quotes > [“If Abraham Lincoln were alive now, he'd roll over in his grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-ford/if-abraham-lincoln-were-alive-now-he-d-roll-over-in-his-grave/) [Gerald Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-ford/) > [“Whatever you are, be a good one.”   Abraham Lincoln”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rriiver-nyile/whatever-you-are-be-a-good-one-abraham-lincoln/) [Rriiver Nyile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rriiver-nyile/) > [Everybody faces obstacles. And I looked to people who had been through many to succeed in life. Abraham Lincoln, born to a poor family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-winfield/everybody-faces-obstacles-and-i-looked-to-people-who-had-been-through/) [Dave Winfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-winfield/) > [“What is to be, will be, and no prayers of ours can arrest the decree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/what-is-to-be-will-be-and-no-prayers-of-ours-can-arrest-the-decree/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“If you attend a meeting of evolutionary biologists somewhere in America, you might be lucky and spot a tall, gray-whiskered, smiling man bearing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/if-you-attend-a-meeting-of-evolutionary-biologists-somewhere-in/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [Men like Abraham Lincoln recognized that if the slaveholders were not stopped, it would only be a question of time until they spread their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-cox-richardson/men-like-abraham-lincoln-recognized-that-if-the-slaveholders-were-not/) [Heather Cox Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-cox-richardson/) > [“Most people,” Abraham Lincoln said, “are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lickona/most-people-abraham-lincoln-said-are-about-as-happy-as-they-make-up/) [Thomas Lickona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lickona/) > [Abraham Lincoln did not contend that his actions were immune from Congressional correction; on the contrary, he specifically said he was acting beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lee-miller/abraham-lincoln-did-not-contend-that-his-actions-were-immune-from/) [William Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lee-miller/) > [I grew up in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Harden County, which is not too far from the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cameron/i-grew-up-in-elizabethtown-kentucky-harden-county-which-is-not-too/) [Daniel Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cameron/) > [“Abraham Lincoln struck off the chains of black Americans, but it was Lyndon Johnson who led them into voting booths, closed democracy’s sacred curtain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-caro/abraham-lincoln-struck-off-the-chains-of-black-americans-but-it-was/) [Robert A. Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-caro/) > [My movies more often are told through pictures, not words. But in this case, the pictures took second position to the incredible words of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/my-movies-more-often-are-told-through-pictures-not-words-but-in-this/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I must have missed school the day we learned about Abraham Lincoln being a vampire slayer...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-must-have-missed-school-the-day-we-learned-about-abraham-lincoln/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/abraham-lincoln-recognized-that-we-could-not-survive-as-a-free-land/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [My favorite thought about Abraham Lincoln is he believed in two things: loving one another and working together to make this world better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-cuomo/my-favorite-thought-about-abraham-lincoln-is-he-believed-in-two/) [Mario Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-cuomo/) > [If I could be any famous person, I'd be John Wilkes Booth, because I'd love to shoot Abraham Lincoln in the face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/if-i-could-be-any-famous-person-i-d-be-john-wilkes-booth-because-i-d/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) [Browse all 238 Abraham lincoln quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abraham-lincoln/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. 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