Synopses & Reviews
As 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Filled with all the facts and factors surrounding the Second Inaugural, Lincoln's Greatest Speech is both an important historical document and a thoughtful analysis of Lincoln's moral and rhetorical genius.
Review
Shelby Foote
author of The Civil War: A Narrative
Professor White's book on the preparation, delivery, and influences of Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address is a significant addition to Civil War literature.
Review
James M. McPherson
In lucid prose, White explores each level and places the Second Inaugural in a broad historical and theological context.
Review
David Herbert Donald
author of Lincoln
[Lincoln's Greatest Speech] is going to have a wide impact on Lincoln scholarship.
Synopsis
Best known for the resonant phrase "with malice toward none, with charity for all, " Lincoln's second inaugural address established the moral imperatives for rebuilding the nation after the Civil War.
In the tradition of Garry Wills's Lincoln at Gettysburg, Lincoln's Greatest Speech combines impeccable scholarship and lively, engaging writing to reveal the full meaning of one of the greatest speeches in our nation's history. Ronald C.White, Jr., shows how Lincoln transformed the meaning of the Civil War by holding both sides equally responsible for the bloodshed and rejecting Northern demands for revenge. In a meticulous examination of the structure and language of the 703-word speech, White brings to light the spiritual and moral beliefs that shaped Lincoln's call for reconciliation and the political experiences and intellectual ideas that informed his plan for binding the wounds of the nation.
Synopsis
In the tradition of Wills's "Lincoln at Gettysburg, Lincoln's Greatest Speech" combines impeccable scholarship and lively, engaging writing to reveal the full meaning of one of the greatest speeches in the nation's history.
About the Author
Ronald C. White Jr. is professor of American Intellectual and Religious History at San Francisco Theological Seminary, as well as the author and editor of five books. He lives in La Cañada, California.
Table of Contents
ContentsHandwritten 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