Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
Repentance before forgiveness is a provision of the Christian system, and on that condition alone will the Republicans grant his forgiveness. <br class="br">Regarding his debate with Judge S. A. Douglas, in his Springfield address (17 July 1858), published in The Life, Speeches, and Public Services of Abraham Lincoln: Together with a Sketch of the Life of Hannibal Hamlin: Republican candidates for the offices of President and Vice-President of the United States (1860), p. 50 <br class="br">Lincoln was alluding to the words of Jesus in Luke 15:7 http://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Luke%2015%3A7 <br class="br">1850s