Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.

Lincoln made this argument in 1861, shortly after taking office, amid intense national debate over slavery, “free labor,” and the future of American economic development. In his annual message to Congress (delivered December 3, 1861), he defended the dignity and priority of labor against claims that property and capital should dominate public policy. The passage reflects the Republican Party’s “free labor” ideology: that work is honorable, social mobility is possible, and the fruits of labor can become capital. It also served as a moral and political counterpoint to the slave system, in which labor was coerced and treated as property rather than as the source of property.

The quote asserts a hierarchy: labor comes first in both time and moral standing, while capital is a derivative accumulation—“fruit”—of labor. Lincoln is not rejecting capital or markets; he is insisting that economic policy and social respect should not treat capital as the master and labor as merely a cost. The statement also implies a democratic ethic: because labor is universal and foundational, it deserves “higher consideration” in law and governance. In the Civil War context, the claim doubles as an indictment of slavery and an affirmation of a society where workers can own themselves, sell their labor freely, and potentially rise to ownership through saving and enterprise.