As of June 2026, collections from the former Imagebase site can now be accessed here. All are listed in the Collection Tree and can also be found through the search function. Images from Blacksburg and Virginia Tech reside primarily in the Historical Photograph Collection.

Archived Content Notice: Items on this site tagged "archived" have been archived and are no longer being updated, but remain available for reference and research purposes only. For accessibility support, please go to Virginia Tech's Accessibility Portal.

Memoir 1, Page 51, Lincoln's Thoughts on Slavery

"If he now wills the removal of a great wrong (slavery) and wills also that we of the North, as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein, new cause to attest and revere, the justice and goodness of God."

This is a quote from a letter that Lincoln wrote to Albert G. Hodges, a prominent Kentuckian and owner of the Frankfort Commonwealth, a Unionist newspaper. Shortly prior to the composition of this letter, Hodges had been one of three Kentuckians, including Governor Bramlette and former Sentor Archibald Dixon, to visit the White House and protest Lincoln’s recruitment of African American troops in their state. Following this meeting, Hodges wrote to Lincoln to request a written summary of what had been said. The result was this letter, the clearest record of Lincoln’s position and thoughts on slavery. Along with the quote that Woods has incorporated here, this letter also included one of Lincoln’s more famous quotes: “If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.” For a complete transcription of the letter, click here.