In a letter from Abraham Lincoln to Joshua Speed 1855

As a country we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." Now it practically reads, "all men are created equal except Negroes." When the Know Nothings take control it will read, "all men are created equal except Negros and foreigners and Catholics." When it comes to this I should perfer immigrating to a country that makes no pretense of loving liberty - to Russia, for instance, where hypocrisy can be taken pure without the base alloy of hypocracy.