Analysis of Lincolns 2nd Inaugural
Lincolns 2nd Inaugural came at a time when the nation needed to heal after the deep and violent division of the Civil War. Lincoln understood that there were going to be lingering hard feelings once the war was finally over, and he sensed that a new spirit needed to be breathed into the nation. This document analysis looks at Lincoln as the author of the speech, his purpose, audience, its credibility, and its message and significance to show why the 2nd Inaugural remains so meaningful and powerful even today.
1 Author and Purpose
The author of the speech is Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. Lincolns background can help to explain some of the power of this speech: he himself was not born into riches and wealth but rather into a social class of humble origins. Yet, he rose to prominence and power through education, hard work, tenacity, and dedication to a legal and political pursuit. His work in the law and in politics connected him to ordinary, everyday people whom he implicitly understood since he was from among them.
His purpose in writing this address was to address the awful situation into which the nation had fallen during the war between the North and the South. He wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on the causes and meaning of the Civil War, which was nearing its end, and to set...
He wanted to draw out the moral and divine dimensions of the war, particularly regarding slavery, and to prepare the nation for the challenges of post-war reconstruction. He wanted, most of all, for everyone on both sides of the
conflict to help in burying the hatchet: It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces but let us judge not that we be not judged, Lincoln stated in the 2nd Inaugural. He wanted to unify both sides in a spirit of
charity.
Date, Location, and Audience
The document was...
…but healing and mercy. At the same time, it is important for its recognition of slavery as the war's central issue and its call for national reconciliation. Lincoln asks whether God may be using the war to punish the US for its
sin of slavery for so many years. It is a moral question that resounds with the
conclusion of the speech, to forgive and work to support one another in charity. The strengths of the speech are in its eloquence, its full moral clarity, its vision for a unified future, and its assessment of the cause of the war. However, a potential weakness could be seen in its reliance on a single cause, slaverywhich is bound to make some in the South upset, since in their view the war was not caused by slavery but by the desire for states rights. In effect, it was a continuation of the
federalist vs. anti-federalist debatesjust this time on the battlefield. But perhaps Lincoln did well to avoid this topic, since it could be like dredging up old…
