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[|Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address]

Abraham Lincoln retook the White House and was officially sworn in on March 5, 1865. His second inaugural address was much more succinct and to the point due to the fact that his purpose and goals remained the same as in his first term. Lincoln believed that during his first oath; “All thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war”. Most were trying to prevent the inevitable through numerous compromises and treaties. However this method only divided the union even more. He believed the south instigated the war and fought for division of the nation, while the north sought to retrieve and conserve it. He knew that the “one eighth slave population was, somehow, the cause of the war.” He believed that neither side thought that slavery would “Cease with, or even before, the conflict would cease.” Now during his second oath the question wasn’t when the civil war was going to start but who was going to emerge triumphant. He also pointed out the fact that both sides prayed and were devoted to the same God. Both sides placed God on their side; “And each invokes His aid against the other.” However Lincoln believed God was on the north’s side due to the fact that he viewed slavery as “offenses to God”, and consequently he believed God was on their side. Lincoln believed that God would punish the slaveholders and reward those who tried to utterly obliterate slavery from the face of the globe. Now half-way through the war Lincoln wants his troops to; “Strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds.” Lincoln encourages his troops to finally win and terminate the war and then restore and heal the nation. Lincoln views southerners as mere; “insurgents”, or rebellious children. His goal after the war is to take the southerners back peacefully and gently rather than punish them for their rebellious actions. All he wants is “a lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.” His understanding attributes and characteristics are what made him perhaps the greatest president the U.S. has ever seen.

The constant and recurring issue and theme during the mid 19th century was the controversy regarding slavery. Slavery in the North was completely abolished by 1804, however in order to abolish it in the South, the nation had to endure a Civil War. In Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Speech one is able to sense the seriousness and sternness in his tone regarding the nation’s stability. In order to preserve the union Lincoln had to; “accept war rather than let it (the nation) perish.” He utilized both naturalism and realism through his recognition of the fact that the only solution to the slavery issue was through a harsh, agonizing, and durable war. He faced the fact that the nation was in great crisis and realized that even after the war ended it would remain in crisis for several decades to come. After the war he would help; “bind up the nation’s wounds and cherish a lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.” Lincoln was determined to not only preserve the nation, but to rehabilitate it and guide it toward a progressive adaptation and back to its normality.

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