Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Address

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A wise man once told me that “the government is like a big cruise ship. It takes forever to turn around.” What he meant by this is that typically it takes a long time for the government to enact changes. This was true in the early 1860s, when Abraham Lincoln was president. In both of Lincoln’s inaugural addresses, he seeks to reunite the union with the south. However, much still changed during Lincoln’s time as president. When he was first sworn into office, Lincoln looked to end the conflict with the southern states peacefully. By the time he gave his second inaugural address, Lincoln was looking to end the conflict by force. When Lincoln was first inaugurated, the outcome of the national crisis was still uncertain. The two inaugural addresses …show more content…
Almost immediately after Lincoln was declared the winner of the election, South Carolina seceded. By the time of Lincoln’s first inaugural address, seven states had left the union, and had already chosen Jefferson Davis as their president. Lincoln did not enter office with an ideal situation. During his first inaugural address, Lincoln tried to calm down the southern states. He says “the property, peace, and security of no section are to be in any wise endangered by the now incoming Administration.” He points to his past speeches to show that he is not interested in taking away slaves. He then talks about how the southern states aren’t legally allowed to leave the union. He compares the constitution to a contract, and says that one state cannot violate. He promises the union will enforce this contract. Lastly, he addresses slavery in the new territories. He says he is willing to compromise, so that new territories don’t all become free states. Lincoln’s plea for peace failed, as the Civil War began only a month after his inaugural address.
Lincoln’s second inaugural address was much shorter than his first. While the first inaugural address was delivered a month before the start of the Civil War, the second inaugural address took place a month before the end of the war. Lincoln promises to his people that there is a lot of hope for the future of America. He also tells us not to blame the confederates after the war. His position on the southern states has stayed the same throughout his first term. He does not want to blame the south, he wants to fix their
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