Did Abraham Lincoln really say, "There is both a power and a magic in public opinion. To that let us now appeal," the quote inscribed on a plaque installed outside the newly renamed Abraham Lincoln Auditorium in Idaho's state Capitol? Twin Falls Times-News reporter Melissa Davlin reports that the answer is in dispute. The quote was selected from Lincoln's "lost speech," an 1856 talk from which no verified transcripts exist. Former Idaho Lt. Gov. David Leroy selected the quote from the disputed Whitney transcript of the speech, and defends the choice.

Most Lincoln transcripts are suspect, Leroy told Davlin, even from his most famous speeches. Historians rely on either Lincoln’s speech notes, which he sometimes deviated from, or wrote out after the speech, or newspapers and stenographers, which sometimes conflict with each other. Without electronic recording, there is no way to verify anything, Leroy said. Leroy, a noted Lincoln scholar himself, told the Times-News the quote was the most compelling, succinct and eloquent he found from the 16th president on public discourse. You can read Davlin's full report here.
 

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