On February 27, 1860, powerful New York Republicans invited Lincoln to give a speech at Cooper Union, in which he argued that the Founding Fathers of the United States had little use for popular sovereignty and had repeatedly sought to restrict slavery.
ˌɔn fˈɛbɹuːˌɛɹi twˈɛnti sˈɛvən, wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti, pˈaʊɚfəl nˈuː jˈɔːɹk ɹᵻpˈʌblɪkənz ɪnvˈaɪɾᵻd lˈɪŋkən tə ɡˈɪv ɐ spˈiːtʃ æt kˈuːpɚ jˈuːniən, ɪnwˌɪtʃ hiː ˈɑːɹɡjuːd ðætðə fˈaʊndɪŋ fˈɑːðɚz ʌvðə juːnˈaɪɾᵻd stˈeɪts hæd lˈɪɾəl jˈuːs fɔːɹ pˈɑːpjʊlɚ sˈɑːvɚɹˌɪnti ænd hæd ɹᵻpˈiːɾᵻdli sˈɔːt tə ɹᵻstɹˈɪkt slˈeɪvɚɹi.