What Did Lincoln Mean to Say about Technology in His “Lecture on Discoveries and Inventions”?

Abstract

Abraham Lincoln’s “Lecture on Discoveries and Inventions,” taken with his contemporaneous “Address to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society,” presents a coherent view of the role of science in a democratic society. While often read either as a celebration of technology or as only a subtle condemnation of slavery, these speeches are best understood in the context of an antebellum divide between Whigs and Democrats about science and technology. Lincoln’s deft deployment of biblical language in “Discoveries and Inventions” suggests that he shared the Whig concern about the social effects of unconstrained technology.