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with all the facts and factors surrounding the Second Inaugural, "Lincoln's Greatest Speech" is both an important historical document and a thoughtful analysis of Lincoln's moral and rhetorical genius.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 81
... slaves , not distributed generally over the Union , but lo- calized in the Southern part of it . These slaves consti- tuted a peculiar and powerful interest . All knew that this interest was , somehow , the cause of the war . To ...
... slaves , not distributed generally over the Union , but lo- calized in the Southern part of it . These slaves consti- tuted a peculiar and powerful interest . All knew that this interest was , somehow , the cause of the war . To ...
Page 88
... slavery : these slaves were not " distributed generally " but were " localized . " Here we encounter the first of Lincoln's three changes to the text of the Second Inaugural . In the last clause of the sentence ( see appendix I ) , the ...
... slavery : these slaves were not " distributed generally " but were " localized . " Here we encounter the first of Lincoln's three changes to the text of the Second Inaugural . In the last clause of the sentence ( see appendix I ) , the ...
Page 89
... slaves . " By using the term " powerful interest , " Lincoln points to the economic interest represented in slavery . An adroit stu- dent of political economy , Lincoln understood the South's economic dependence on cotton and slavery ...
... slaves . " By using the term " powerful interest , " Lincoln points to the economic interest represented in slavery . An adroit stu- dent of political economy , Lincoln understood the South's economic dependence on cotton and slavery ...
Contents
Inauguration Day | 21 |
At this second appearing | 43 |
And the war came | 60 |
Copyright | |
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