There is no permanent class of hired laborers amongst us. Twenty five years ago, I was a hired laborer. The hired laborer of yesterday, labors on his own account today; and will hire others to labor for him tomorrow. Advancement—improvement in condition—is the order of things in a society of equals.
ATTRIBUTION:
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), U.S. president. fragment on free labor, Sep. 17, 1859? Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, vol. 3, p. 462, Rutgers University Press (1953, 1990).
