An Open Letter to the Reddit Community

no, read the whole quote from Lincoln's 1st STOTU

A large majority belong to neither class—neither work for others nor have others working for them. In most of the Southern States a majority of the whole people of all colors are neither slaves nor masters, while in the Northern a large majority are neither hirers nor hired. Men, with their families—wives, sons, and daughters—work for themselves on their farms, in their houses, and in their shops, taking the whole product to themselves, and asking no favors of capital on the one hand nor of hired laborers or slaves on the other. It is not forgotten that a considerable number of persons mingle their own labor with capital; that is, they labor with their own hands and also buy or hire others to labor for them; but this is only a mixed and not a distinct class. No principle stated is disturbed by the existence of this mixed class.

the argument in favor of such a "mixed class" seems awfully close to the championing of "small business" to me and that while such businesses hire workers the expectation in early GOP thought was that these people would split off and either form new businesses or independent farms.

/r/blog Thread Parent