Side note: according to some sleuthing by the snopes crowd[1], this quote predates Lincoln's presidency by several decades, with the first recorded usage being

Side note: according to some sleuthing by the snopes crowd[1], this quote predates Lincoln's presidency by several decades, with the first recorded usage being somewhere around 1834. He may have used the anecdote himself, but it seems to have been a popular saying in the abolitionist movement in general. [1] http://msgboard.snopes.com/message/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/32/t/000450.html http://msgboard.snopes.com/message/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_t...