Originally published: 2002. Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-237) and indexes.
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."
Summary:
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Filled with all the facts and factors surrounding the Second Inaugural, Lincoln's Greatest Speech is both an important historical document and a thoughtful analysis of Lincoln's moral and rhetorical genius.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.