Abraham Lincoln: Famous Speeches

First Inaugural Address

Lincoln stated that he thought slavery was morally wrong, but he didnt intend to end it. Lincoln states his belief that secession was both wrong and unconstitutional. He asked the states in rebellion to return to the Union.

Abraham Lincoln issuing the Emancipation Proclamation

Emancipation Proclamation
At first Abraham Lincoln insisted that the Civil War was fought to save the Union, not to end slavery. As the war dragged on, he changed his mind. He realized that ending slavery would encourage European nations to support him and would deprive the Confederacy of their work force.

January 1, 1863
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Proclamation meansformal order. The proclamation declared all slaves in CONFEDERATE states to be free. This announcement had little immediate effect on slavery. The Confederate states simply ignored the document.

 Slaves living in the states loyal to the Union (Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri) were still slaves. Still, the Emancipation Proclamation changed the war from a fight to save the Union to a crusade for freedom. The time came when I felt that slavery must die so that the nation might live, said Lincoln.

Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation declared:

a) b) c) d) All slaves to be forever free Slaves in Union slave states to be free Slaves in Confederate states to be free Slaves in U.S. territories to be free

Abraham Lincoln
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg Address
President Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in November 1863. Thousands of the men who died there had been buried in a new cemetery overlooking the battlefield. Lincoln was among those invited to speak at the dedication of this new burial ground.

A Man of Few Words

After another speaker talked for over an hour, Lincoln stood and addressed the crowd. The nation would never forget his words. The president reminded the audience that the war was testing whether a nation could endure to be conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. He spoke of the men who died at Gettysburg defending freedom for ALL.

He continued
The world might forget what we say here, said Lincoln, but the world can never forget what they did here. He called on all Americans to remain dedicated to the great task remaining before usthat from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion

and he finished
that we here highly resolve that these dead shall no have died in vainthat this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedomand that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth

What was the main message Lincoln wanted to convey in his Gettysburg Address?
a) Continue the war to make sure the United States stays together. b) Appoint a new general to lead the Union army. c) End the war as quickly as possible. d) Run for another term as president.

2nd Inaugural Address

With malice toward none, and with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace

What Lincoln Meant:

The North doesnt hate the South We want to help you We want to finish restoring the Union We want all physical and emotional wounds and scars to heal We should take care of the widows and orphans in the South whose husbands and fathers died in the war We need to work together toward a long peace for our nation.

Lincolns main point in his second inaugural address was :

a) b) c) d) Healing and rebuilding the South Punishing those states who seceded Helping former slaves Thanking citizens for re-electing him