As Abraham Lincoln prepared to sign the Emancipation Proclamation, he took his pen, moved it to the signature line, paused for a moment, and then dropped the pen. When asked why, the president replied, “If my name goes into history, it will be for this act, and if my hand trembles when I sign it, there will be some who will say, ‘he hesitated.’”

Lincoln then turned to the table, took up the pen, and boldly signed his name.

Today in the Word, July, 1990, p. 8