Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Summary

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809 near Hodgenville, KY. As a child Lincoln preferred to read rather than work, and this caused conflict with his father. Lincoln didn’t go to school regularly, he spent less than 12 months attending school, and he never attended college. After the death of his sister in 1828, Abraham Lincoln sailed to New Orleans. During his time there he worked on multiple jobs, and impressed the locals with his good-natured personality. Lincoln “saw brief service in the Black Hawk War” [rogerjnorton.com], and tried to run for the Illinois legislature in 1832, but was unsuccessful. He continued running 1834, 1836, 1838, 1840, and was successful on all four. Lincoln was a member of the Whig party up until 1856 when he became a Republican. Also, he was studying law in his spare time, and became a

It was a short, but powerful speech. He speaks on how the war was started by both sides, and both can take the fall for it, “both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came” (Lincoln). He also spoke of how they knew that having slaves was the cause of the war. He continues by saying “To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war; while the Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it” (Lincoln). Furthermore, Lincoln says that maybe God created the war as a punishment to both South and North for the sin of American slavery. In his ending paragraph he spoke on how he wants both sides to come as one, “let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds” (Lincoln). He continues by saying to care for the families and soldiers of the war, and to create a peaceful