Abraham Lincoln described democracy as "government of the people, by the people, for the people."
NOT BSTOTAL BS
NOT BS — Verdict: True
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The Short Version
The historical record firmly supports this attribution. Multiple authoritative texts of the Gettysburg Address show Lincoln using the phrase "government of the people, by the people, for the people," and the claim does not depend on him having invented it. Earlier similar wording exists, but that does not affect the accuracy of saying Lincoln described democracy this way.
Caveats
The phrase is accurately attributed to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, but Lincoln did not necessarily originate the wording; similar formulations predate him.
In context, the line is part of a broader statement about preserving self-government and the Union, not a formal standalone definition of democracy.
Minor wording variants appear in some secondary reproductions, but the strongest primary-text sources support the standard quotation.