LAD#15 - Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address.

Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address on March 4th, 1865. It mainly concerned the Civil War which was in full swing at the time. At his first inauguration all thoughts were directed to an impending civil war. Yet insurgents were bent on destroying the Union. Two parties emerged, but one would make war that than let the nation survive, while the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came. The interest of slaves who were 1/8 of the population, thought localized in the south, was somehow the cause of the war. Neither party anticipated that the war would last for as long as it had. Nor that the cause might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. (Lincoln is referring to the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863) It was ironic that both sides prayed to the same God and read the same Bible. Each invoking His against the other yet, both can not be answered. Lincoln hoped that the war would speedily pass away in favor of completely destroying the brutal institution of slavery. He concludes with urging the people to work together to achieve “a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”