Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address

History Term PaperThe Civil War, also known as, "The War Between the States" , was necessary, made many positive steps for the great nation to unify again and to incorporate slaves as citizens of that nation. The South refused to compromise about slavery and they decided to create their own establishment, The Confederate States of America. President Abraham Lincoln 's goal coming into the war was to unify all the states and to relieve African-Americans (World Book). I agree with both of those statements and consider them to be valid reasons for war.

By the time Lincoln delivered his 2nd Inaugural Address in 1865 he had come to the realization that perhaps God did have a stronger role in the Civil War. After the death of his son he had started to re-evaluate God’s role in the war and wanted to know what everybody was also asking which was What was God’s will in the crisis. Each side, the North and South, believed in the same God and read the same Bible, but yet were not on the same page when it came to slavery. Each believed that God was on their side and that slavery was right or that slavery was a sin. The emancipation was a religious moment because it was as if a “new heaven and a new Earth” was created, many saw it as a new beginning although it only freed slaves in the South and racism

The first major reason of the civil war stems from Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech. Lincoln gives warning to the growing rift between the North and the South, the Anti-Slavery and the Pro-Slavery groups, as evidence in ‘I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.’ Although the antagonism and eagerness of protecting the Union is not shown as prominently as future speeches, we can find a hint of caution in his tone. He goes on to support his claims through the hodgepodge of legislation that is the ‘Nebraska Doctrine’ and the legal crisis of the Dred Scott court case. He politely refers to this as ‘squabble’ and speak of the controversy and moral implication that they have caused. For his part, it is easy to see the insinuation of the speech- he believed slavery was immoral and was wholly incompatible with the principles of the Declaration of Independence embodied in the phrase

On March 4, 1865 Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address as president of the United States. The inaugural address came at the very end of the American Civil War, and just a month before the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Prior to this address, the United States had been split into two different independent states, the Union and the Confederacy. Throughout Abraham Lincoln’s first term and the very beginning of his second, Lincoln had to deal with the secession of the eleven states that made up the Confederacy. Also during the war, Lincoln competed in the 1864 presidential election in which his leadership was challenged by George B. McClellan. This inaugural address was important at the time, and remains a relic of Abraham Lincoln’s powerful speaking ability.

This quote made a clear point of how Lincoln views slavery and how he wants to end slavery in the United Sates. Also he says that “we must not interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists, because the constitution forbids it, and the general welfare does not require us to do” (Various Lincoln Statements). Lincoln did not want any change that he would make to challenge slavery in the confederate states because it was forbidden by the constitution.

In 1864, the country was divided due to the Civil War. Both sides had experienced great losses, and many were starting to lose hope. To this day, the Civil War remains the bloodiest war in U.S. history. 1864 was also the same year Abraham Lincoln was reelected for President of the United States. When Lincoln got up to make his second inaugural address, he claimed that because he had done this before, he wasn’t going to use all of the formalities that are often used in inauguration speeches. Instead, he focused mostly on trying to give the people-specifically, the north-hope during this terrible time. In Lincoln’s address, he attempts to give people hope and reunite the country via his use of tone, ethos, logos, and pathos.

Panel 3: On March 4, 1861, after being elected as the president of the nation, Abraham Lincoln gave his first inaugural Address where he claimed that he had no purpose to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it’s practiced. He had no inclination to do so. He was just like any other northerner who believed that slavery should not expand but never considered the black and white to be on the same level.

“I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the united states, by the power in me invested as Commander-In-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this 1st of January, A.D. 1863” (Lincoln). The Anti-Slavery Movement began in the 1830’s and came to an end around the 1870’s. The leaders of the Anti-Slavery Movement that helped the slaves get freedom were Abraham Lincoln who wrote the “Emancipation Proclamation”; William Lloyd Garrison was editor of an abolitionist newspaper and got people involved in what was happening to slaves; Frederick Douglass was an escaped slave who became and important leader; Harriet Tubman she lead slaves escape from slave owners; and William Lloyd Still was a conductor of an underground railroad. The purpose of the Anti-Slavery Movement was to give freedom to all slaves. The title of the speech is “Emancipation Proclamation” and was written by Abraham Lincoln on the 22nd of September 1862, and took affect January 1st, at the White House in Washington, DC. Lincoln wanted equal rights and freedom for all slaves. In presidents Abraham Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” speech, he motivated his intended audience during this Anti-Slavery Movement by using the rhetorical devices of rhetorical questioning and pathos.

“The pattern of the prodigal is: rebellion, ruin, repentance, reconciliation, restoration” (Edwin Louis Cole). Abraham Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address” is a speech that highlights every point in Cole’s quote. He, Lincoln, talks about how the south manages to rebel, how their economy will be left in ruin, how they will repent and be forgiven by both God and the North, how the North and the South will reconcile, and finally he talks of how the nation will move on to restoration. Abraham Lincoln’s “Second Inaugural Address” emphasizes the reconciliation of a torn apart nation by appealing to pathos, logos, and ethos and by using diction to appeal to the listener’s emotion.

Lincoln’s speech contained neither happiness nor sadness. Rather, the speech was a reflection of the causes and meaning of war. The speech was greeted with misunderstanding. Many thought Lincoln would provide a victory speech for the North or blame the South for the evil of slavery. Lincoln’ address only contains 703 words, which is also of the shortest inaugural addresses recorded. Throughout the address, Lincoln mentions God, the Scripture, and invokes prayer. Frederick Douglass, abolitionist leader, wrote in his journal, “The address sounded more like a sermon than a state paper” (Autobiographies, 802).

He wanted to be the one to solve the issue of slavery. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which announced the freedom of slaves in the Confederacy. The southerners were totally against the idea of ending slavery. President Lincoln felt that not abolishing slavery could put the unity of the country in jeopardy. The southern states had even thought about forming a new country. Abraham Lincoln wanted to keep all of the states united.

Stanford, the supreme court ruled that slaves were property, and that they weren’t allowed to be freed because of property rights (Document C). This was a huge deal because this is saying that the Supreme Court supports slavery, this angers the north, and leads to tensions. In 1850, Daniel Webster said, as an American, that the north was wrong because they weren’t following the laws (he was referring to the Fugitive Slave Act), and that they should do their constitutional duties. Webster is attacking the North because of the way they fight against slavery, and this makes the south look like they aren’t doing something bad, just “their constitutional duties” (Document D). Lincoln delivered a speech that stated, “A house divided against itself, cannot stand”. This makes the north and the south realize that America can’t succeed in the position they currently are in. Lincoln says that only one will prevail, and that they are going to need to live with it. This makes the South think that Lincoln is sided with the north (Document G). In the election of 1860, the nation is literally divided in half. In this election, Lincoln won (Document H). This causes the South to secede, and this is not fixable via

President Abraham Lincoln orated a powerful persuasive speech in his Second Inaugural Address, just one month before the end of the Civil War. This speech shed light to his contemplation of the effects of the Civil War and provided his vision for the future of the nation. Lincoln’s address was written through a logical theme that focused on the unity of the country. He used religion, specific diction, and flat-out logical thinking to convey his message. The speech was given as the Civil War was ending, and President Lincoln wanted to provide a bit of light in a very dark time. He could have given the lengthy speech that the audience expected; but instead, he gave a short message of unity that fueled the United States for years to come.

The civil war was a significant part of shaping our country's to the way we know it today. Many events had led up to the war and had allowed the people to choose sides and prepare. Three important events that contributed to the onset of the civil war are,1852 a book called “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is released, 1857 the Dred Scott case arises, and in 1860 Abraham Lincoln is elected as president of the United States.

Lincoln most likely had many reasons to write this speech, but there was one main reason that stood out the most to Majerol. Lincoln signed the "Emancipation Proclamation" to transform the nature of the civil war such as, helping the Union secure victory in the civil war. In addition, it had freed the slaves in all of the confederate states but not in the Union states because he did not want to lose his support in the northern states. If Lincoln would have freed the slaves in the entire United States of America he would have lost all of his supporters in the north that had slaves. In addition he would have lost the civil war because of his lack of troops. "It authorized the enlistment of free blocks for armed service, free slaves from farms" (Majerol). Therefore, Lincoln signed the “Emancipation Proclamation” because he wanted the support of the blacks so that they could join and help them win the civil war. Lincoln signed the proclamation because he knew