One of Lincoln’s Greatest Speeches
March 5th, 2010Filed under: Exhibitions, History
Abraham Lincoln, 1865
On March 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address in Washington, D.C. The Civil War was nearly over and, despite his opening claim to the contrary, Lincoln had much to say.
After briefly recounting the war’s beginnings, Lincoln declared slavery as its root cause, something he had never said before. Indeed, during the early war, Lincoln refused to attack slavery but the brutal conflict challenged and ultimately changed him, prompting him to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, actively support the Thirteenth Amendment, and privately endorse voting rights for some African Americans. These were astonishing results, but Lincoln warned his countrymen that God may allow the “mighty scourge of war” to continue until “all the wealth piled by the bond-man’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword…”
Lincoln concluded with a deeply moving appeal for national reconciliation and a “lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.” One hundred and forty-five years later, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural remains one of the greatest speeches in American history; both it and the Gettysburg Address are engraved on the side walls of the Lincoln Memorial.
Abraham Lincoln Transformed examines the fundamental change in Lincoln’s views about slavery and the Union that changed America. The exhibition runs through April 12, 2010.
> Read the full text of Lincoln’s second inaugural address
> Plan a visit to see Abraham Lincoln Transformed
Tags: Abraham Lincoln Transformed, Civil War, Emancipation, Libby Mahoney, Olivia Mahoney, Slavery
