Synopses & Reviews
After four years of unspeakable horror and sacrifice on both sides, the Civil War was about to end. On March 4, 1865, at his Second Inaugural, President Lincoln did not offer the North the victory speech it yearned for, nor did he blame the South solely for the sin of slavery. Calling the whole nation to account, Lincoln offered a moral framework for peace and reconciliation. The speech was greeted with indifference, misunderstanding, and hostility by many in the Union. But it was a great work, the victorious culmination of Lincoln's own lifelong struggle with the issue of slavery, and he well understood it to be his most profound speech. Eventually this "with malice toward none" address would be accepted and revered as one of the greatest in the nation's history. In 703 words, delivered slowly, Lincoln transformed the meaning of the suffering brought about by the Civil War. He offered reunification, not revenge. Among those present were black soldiers and confederate deserters, ordinary citizens from all over, the black leader Frederick Douglass, the Cabinet, and other notables. John Wilkes Booth is visible in the crowd behind the pr
Synopsis
In this insightful book, White shows how Lincoln's second inaugural address, delivered five-and-a-half weeks before the president's assassination, drew from the whole of his rhetorical genius, biblical learning, and a lifetime of moral contemplation.
Table of Contents
Contents Handwritten Text of the Second Inaugural
Printed Text of the Second Inaugural
- Inauguration Day
- "At this second appearing..."
- "And the war came."
- "...somehow, the cause of the war..."
- "Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God..."
- "The Almighty has His own purposes."
- "...every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword..."
- "With malice toward none; with charity for all..."
- "...better than anything I have produced, but...it is not immediately popular."
EPILOGUE
APPENDIX I
The Text of the Second Inaugural Address
APPENDIX II
Lincoln's "Little Speech":
Letter to Albert G. Hodges
APPENDIX III
Abraham Lincoln: "Meditation on the Divine Will"
NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX TO OTHER LINCOLN TEXTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS