Why We Remember Lincoln’s Second Inaugural

The day Lincoln gave his second inaugural address is a day that has been
documented in almost every American history book. Lincoln gave the speech on Sa
turday March 4th, 1865, despite awful weather thousands gathered to hear him spe
ak. The timing of the address was crucial as almost every American knew that Uni
on war victory was on the horizon, thus citizens both northern and southern were
carefully listening for hints at what Lincoln believed the future held for the
country. Lincoln, being a very intelligent and understanding individual expected
this and used the speech as an opportunity to try and encourage the country to
move towards peace. For this to happen, Lincoln needed to make it clear that the
Confederate states would be permitted to rejoin the Union as equals. In order t
o communicate this point, Lincoln avoided placing blame on either party, careful
ly touched upon the subject of slavery, and looked positively towards the future
of the country.
While many assumed his second address would be just as long and detailed
as his first, it was surprisingly short and to the point. He opened his address
referring to his First inaugural, and explains that while at that point an exte
nded address seemed “fitting and proper”, after four years of such a hard war there
is little he could say that people were not already aware of. He made the point
that the future of the country lay in “the progess of our arms, upon which all els
e chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself”. This opening set
the tone for the address as it made listeners well aware that Lincoln was not go
ing to make any predictions about the future, but that he knew the consequences
that both sides of the conflict had suffered thus far into the war.
In order to create some form of unification between the north and the so
uth, Lincoln placed the responsibility for the cause of war on both sides. He st
rategically mentions that neither side wanted war and that “All dreaded it; all s
ought to avert it.” Lincoln acknowledges that many (including him) wanted to settl
e the issue of secession without war, but when it was realized that this was not
going to be possible he knew that saving the Union was worth going to war. He e
laborates upon this by saying that both parties tried to avoid war, but “one of th
em would rather make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would
accept war rather than let it perish”. The only group of people he finds guilty i
n regards to the war were those, “insurgent agents” who were seeking to dissolve the
nation through negotiation, while refusing to actually negotiate. To close the
discussion of what led up to the war he ended this portion of the text with “and t
he war came”.
Throughout the war Lincoln became more and more aware of the impact slav
ery had on the country as a whole. Though he believed that the cause of war shou
ld be credited to both the Union and the Confederacy, he also thought that slave
ry was the issue central to the war’s cause. Slaves made up 1/8th of the countries
total population, and these were generally all located in Southern territories.
He felt that all in the country had "a peculiar and powerful interest," an inte
rest that "all knew" was somehow the "cause of the war." Once again, He felt tha
t both the Union and the Confederacy were at fault. He blames the North for know
ing it was wrong yet not stopping it, and he blames the South for practicing sla
very for so long.
Another issue Lincoln uses to pull the country together is the idea that
both the North and Confederates prayed to the same God. Both the North and Sout
h read the same Bible and identified themselves as the same religion, yet each h
ad manipulated their thoughts towards God to convince themselves that ‘he’ supported
their cause. Lincoln stated "The prayers of both could not be answered; that of
neither has been answered fully." He claimed this was because "The Almighty ha
s his own purposes." Lincoln then provided the crowd with the idea that God “give
s to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the
offense came", (the offense he is referring to being slavery). He furthered the
idea that the war was God’s method of punishing the country for practicing slaver
y for so long when he stated "If God wills that it continue until all the wealth
piled by the bondsman s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be
 sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by anothe
r drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must b
e said, the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” The country
was divided on many levels, but the reference to the Lord forced people to analy
ze the moral codes they (the country as a whole) had broken in allowing slavery
to exist.
As everyone in their right minds knew the civil war was nearing its end,
many were waiting for Lincoln to address or give his prediction as to how it wo
uld happen. Instead of opening that door, Lincoln sought to begin the process of
bringing the country back together by making his end goal clear: the creation o
f a new and stronger Union. He makes it clear when he states “With Malice towards
none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see ri
ght”, this quote represents that he wanted and expected all citizens of the countr
y to be treated the same once they were reunified. It also depicts an example in
which Lincoln refers to the country as ‘us’, not the North and South, Confederates
and Unionists, but ‘us’. He continued his closing remarks with “let us strive on to f
inish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shal
l have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may ac
hieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations”.
Obviously his closing remarks were strategically planned, and they make it clear
that Lincoln really means what he says.
Lincoln’s ability to understand his audience enabled him to recognize what
it was they needed to hear. Inviting the South back into the Union, without ups
etting the Northern citizens was a very difficult task but Lincoln somehow manag
ed to accomplish it. The means in which he placed the blame of the war, the way
he credited the issue of slavery to gods will, and by making it clear that his u
ltimate goal was to reunite the country as one made it clear that peace was atta
inable.