Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second InauguralAs the day for Lincoln's second inauguration drew near, Americans wondered what their sixteenth president would say about the Civil War. Would Lincoln guide the nation toward "Reconstruction"? What about the slaves? They had been emancipated, but what about the matter of suffrage? When Lincoln finally stood before his fellow countrymen on March 4, 1865, and had only 703 words to share, the American public was stunned. The President had not offered the North a victory speech, nor did he excoriate the South for the sin of slavery. Instead, he called the whole country guilty of the sin and pleaded for reconciliation and unity. In this compelling account, noted historian Ronald C. White Jr. shows how Lincoln's speech was initially greeted with confusion and hostility by many in the Union; commended by the legions of African Americans in attendance, abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass among them; and ultimately appropriated by his assassin John Wilkes Booth forty-one days later. Filled with all the facts and factors surrounding the Second Inaugural, "Lincoln's Greatest Speech" is both an important historical document and a thoughtful analysis of Lincoln's moral and rhetorical genius. |
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Page 122
... Union troops broke and gave ground all the way to defenses on the outskirts of Washington . In five days of fighting , the Union forces of sixty - five thousand men suffered sixteen thousand casualties . Lee and Jackson's fifty - five ...
... Union troops broke and gave ground all the way to defenses on the outskirts of Washington . In five days of fighting , the Union forces of sixty - five thousand men suffered sixteen thousand casualties . Lee and Jackson's fifty - five ...
Page 175
... Union soldiers would be treated as prisoners of war . If the demand were refused , Forrest would not be responsible for the fate of the defenders of the fort . After several delays , the Union forces , under the forged name of Major ...
... Union soldiers would be treated as prisoners of war . If the demand were refused , Forrest would not be responsible for the fate of the defenders of the fort . After several delays , the Union forces , under the forged name of Major ...
Page 245
... Union sol- diers encountered by , 173-76 defeat of , 21 deserters from , 22 , 31 Confederate States of America ... Union solidarity in , 23 Cooper Union Address ( 1860 ) , 49 , 51 , 59 , 64-65 , 70 , 95 , 172-73 early extemporaneous ...
... Union sol- diers encountered by , 173-76 defeat of , 21 deserters from , 22 , 31 Confederate States of America ... Union solidarity in , 23 Cooper Union Address ( 1860 ) , 49 , 51 , 59 , 64-65 , 70 , 95 , 172-73 early extemporaneous ...
Contents
Inauguration Day | 21 |
At this second appearing | 43 |
And the war came | 60 |
Copyright | |
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