Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Speech ·104 of 348
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people."
They never said that.
What people say
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people."
What was actually said
"... government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." Abraham Lincoln — Gettysburg Address, 19 November 1863
Why it stuck
The triad is a fragment of Lincoln's conditional clause. The phrase likely echoes Theodore Parker's 1850 sermons.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.