I will not say that all hope is yet gone.

I have desired as sincerely as any man—I sometimes think more than any other man—that our present difficulties might be settled without the shedding of blood. I will not say that all hope is yet gone. But if the alternative is presented, whether the Union is to be broken in fragments and the liberties of the people lost, or blood be shed, you will probably make the choice, with which I shall not be dissatisfied.

1. New York Tribune, May 1, 1861. “The Frontier Guard, under the command of Senator Lane of Kansas, numbering 150, and composed mostly of Kansas men, called on Mr. Lincoln on Friday. . . . Mr. Lincoln responded briefly, concluding as follows:” (ibid).