Abraham Lincolns Second Inaugural Address

Abraham capital of Nebraskas Second Inaugural AddressAbraham capital of Nebraska and His Second Inaugural Address Delivered March 4, 1864though delivered almost 150 years ago, Abraham capital of Nebraskas (1809-1865) second inaugural mete out continues today to be an exemplary model of leadership, demonstrating its abilities in semipolitical unification, cues to acres-building, goals of social progression, and most importantly, its expression of the importance of study reconciliation. Given at a eon when a young American bucolic was still reeling from the elegant War, capital of Nebraskas calculate not exclusively(prenominal) reaffirmed the Unions justification for fighting a derivest Confederate secession and insurgency, except also extended a hand to the formerly rebellious states that found themselves structurally and economically debilitated by the end of the contend. A work of oratory mastery, capital of Nebraskas content was not nearly as important as the address l iterary devices such as assonance, alliteration, and phraseology. Then- hot seat Lincolns style and delivery prove that todays politicians and leadership stand much to gain from the model presented at Lincolns Second Inaugural Address.The beginning of Lincolns final term saw a distressed nation left economically and structurally ravaged. Costing the lives of more Americans than any war in its short history, the Civil War was the product of a social, economic, and political prisonbreak between the nitrogenern Union and the insurgent Southern coalition of secessionist states. Lincolns Second Inaugural Address therefore had to satisfy several requisites. The quarrel had to take special care to produce praise where due to the jointureern Union army and its loyal population without alienating the defeated South, still reeling from the economic blow compensatet to its agrarian majority by the abolition of thraldom. In order to bear on this delicate balance, Lincoln began the shi ft in content and tone that would give the second inaugural address its singular meaning, inclusive to both northwestern and South ( bloodless 61). In his Lincolns Greatest Speech The Second Inaugural, Ronald C. White makes note of Lincolns masterful understanding and expenditure of both imagery and distinctive phrase, tools that Americas sixteenth president would use as part of an overarching strategy emphasizing common actions and emotions (White 61). George Rable stressed the importance of non-political language in Lincolns address in his The Confederate Republic A Revolution against Politics, as the Southern population was infamously apolitical in its views and practices.Lincolns diction therefore had to be deliberately neutral in diction and content so as not to highlight the existing tension between North and South, the major differences manifested in the stereotypes of the prototypical agrarian Southerner and politicized, industrial Northerner. Lincoln was less intellectual and studied in tone in delivering his second inaugural address, focusing more on religious allusions and spiritual reference (White 22). A key feature of the address, Lincolns use of religious overtones was neutral in its acceptance in both the North and South. Though taking great care to give the North credit for accepting the war rather than let it perish (Lincoln, lines 17-18) Lincoln did his best not to alienate the South but also took great care not to indemnify the insurgents in the face of his loyal Union constituency. To avoid a potentially catastrophic venture, Lincoln use Christianity and references to Protestant texts shared by both national contingents. With such radically different constituents, religion was the only common ground, resulting in a final address that notorious author and black activist Frederick Douglass found more akin to a sermon than a speech (White ii).Lincolns religious allusions served to accent national unity in similarity, as seen in lines 29- 30 in his reference to Northern and Southern populations both reading the same Bible and praying to the same God. Furthermore, Lincoln alluded to religion as a mechanism to displace blame on either political party for the violence that transpired following the Confederate secession from the Union. In lines 29-32, Lincoln urges the two halves of the nation to judge not its counterpart lest they in turn be judged. Placing the final victory in an intangible Gods proverbial hands, the politically masterful president did not place the moral imperative in the hands of either North or South, or else referencing the Almightys purposes in line 30 which in turn were assumed in the Judeo-Christian tradition incomprehensible by man. The heavily religious infrastructure of the address kept abreast of the apocalyptic undertones of the war. In such a fractious time in American politics, both sides endorsed the distribution of their own versions of the Bible. White plug intos the use of relig ion as a propaganda tool to encourage both reluctant Northern and Southern populations of their justifications for warWith the beginning of hostilities, Bibles were produced almost as quickly as bullets. The American Bible Society made the decision to supply Bibles to all soldiers. At the Bible House, headquarters of the ABS in red-hot York City, sixteen power presses printed and bank the books. The increase in the publication of Bibles was astonishing. In the first year of the Civil War, the American Bible Society printed 370,000 more Bibles than in the previous year (White 102).Lincolns somewhat exploitative use of religious allegory was therefore not a novel concept the hastened production of Bibles reflects both the Union and the Confederacys employ workforcet of religious justification to override whatever national allegiances would erstwhile prevent war. Lincolns address counteracted this stratagem employed by both North and South, neither negating nor supporting either side s contentions that divine providence remained with their respective side.Richard Striner detailed the importance of the religious factor in Lincolns speech through a private letter Lincoln wrote to a contemporary, wherein Lincoln made special note to mention that men are not flattered by being shown that there has been a difference of purpose between the Almighty and them to deny it, however, in this case, is to deny that there is a God governing the world (Striner 251). The letter continued, stating that the concept of mans helplessness under divine will is a truth which Lincoln thought requisite to be told (Striner 251).Glen Thurows Abraham Lincoln and policy-making Religion portrays Lincoln as a shrewd politician who understood the power of religious allegory in political speech. Thurow accentuates Lincolns foresight in his recollection that Lincolns law partner, William H. Herndon, claimed after Lincolns death that the president was not a believer in Christianity and some eve n testified he was an atheist (Thurow 12). From this vantage, a different Lincoln is brought to the forefront, his re-election address taking on an entirely new significance. For all his political foresight and social innovation, Lincoln did not argufy the heavily religious tones of Washington. Selective of what views he would reveal to the American public, Lincoln was hence an innovator in every sense of the word, an abolitionist leader of a nation whose agrarian half depended on the institution of bondage for its sustenance. Moreover, Lincoln was also an atheist president of a religious people, one of the primary reasons his two most impacting speechesthe Second Inaugural Address and the Gettysburg Addresswere so religious in their hyperbole. More than maintaining the faade of Lincolns religious piety, religious speech bolstered what White refers to as the homespun factor (White 15). As a man of humble beginnings, Lincolns appeal as a self-made man sharply contrasted that of the social elite who elected him into power. The apolitical South, despite its misgivings about Lincolns intentions for the prox of America, recognized Lincoln as more than a member of the political bourgeois. Though they sensed his immense support from the Northern elite, the Southern contingent of the country also observed his detractors decrying his homespun style of speech and persona as something that gained him the enmity of his Northern opposition. A considerable amount of confusion stemmed from Lincolns religious ambiguities though he never belonged to an established church, Lincoln frequently attended services with his wife, Mary. Thurow observes that much of the confusion surrounding Lincolns religion stems from the fact that commentators call for tried to see whether he belonged to the religion of the churches, neglecting the possibility that his speeches were political, not religious, or were religious because they were political (Thurow 14). It was not Lincolns lack of p rofessed faith that made him a leader, but rather his understanding of the unifying effect of religion and his carefully thought-out understanding of political religion in America (Thurow 14). Just as the Confederacy would make use of Christianitys most sacred texts to justify everything from slavery to secession, so would Lincoln take good of religious overtones to unify America and promote national reconciliation and reconstruction.A brilliant orator, Lincolns choice of diction played a substantial role in the delivery and conveyance of Lincolns message of national reconciliation and unity.Taking care not to use divisive legal injury such as we or they to refer to Northern and Southern constituents (respectively), Lincoln used strategic terms repeatedly to emphasize unity no occasion the events of the war. In describing the course of the Civil War, Lincoln describes the other side not as an intangible it but with a genuine sense of moral equivalency and respect. there are freq uent references to the nations civil war as a tragedy for the collective nation. For example, the war is described as the progress of our implements of war (line 8). In describing what the war meant to the people of the United States, Lincoln uses the phrases all repetitively in line 12 (all dreaded it, all sought to turn down it), the phrase both (line 16) and the term each (line 25) as well. Though Lincoln does ascribe some separating characteristics to North and South, he does not specifically assign blame, instead ascribing relatively ambiguous terms. Halfway through the address, Lincoln has established the terms of the war and begins to reconcile using the word neither (line 24) to address both the North and the South in using the negative neither, the president further reconciled the two parties by removing them both from the realm of culpability. Exonerating both entities, the president continues in the address by portraying opposing struggles in relatively positive terms. For instance, in line 28 the president describes each sides fighting as the means in which both parties sought an easier triumph, giving all involved moral equivalency to one another. The venerated master politician closes the address with the completed theme of national reconciliation with the quotes malice toward none and charity for all (line 47).The strategic repetition of certain alliteration and assonance serves to emphasize the presidents points. For example, the cope of slavery is evoked as one of great importance by the repeated p sound of peculiar and powerful (line 20). National reconciliation is reflected by the use of the f sound of line 41, as the president communicates his perception of the American citizen as fondly hoping and fervently praying for a positive future. Such optimism was a necessity, as it was of the utmost importance that unity and reconciliation for a bright future were touted foremost on the political agenda. Despite the mass havoc, destruction, and loss of military personnel life throughout the rebellious Confederate states, Lincolns address was crafted with an uncharacteristic optimism for the time. White notes that after four years as a war president, Lincoln could look ahead to four years as a peace president (White 22). The Civil War was not the only do it addressed, however. North and South were only one party at odds with each other. The fledgling Republican party Lincoln so aptly represented was exceedingly criticized for its disputed reconstruction plan. Moreover, political rifts still remained between Northern Democrats who remained loyal to the Union and the predominantly Southern Democrats who seceded. Thus, the election of 1864 would be one of the most critical in American historyand potentially the most catastrophic (Striner 217).Lincolns political strategies were remarkable, most notably his ability to entertain the political goals of umpteen without compromising his base of support. Alexander McClures compil ation of letters revealed how politicians with opposing political agendas including antagonistic elements to Lincolns own support approached the president, who made it a point to maintain close and often apparently confidential relations with each without offence to the other (McClure 85).Lincolns proclivity towards national reconciliation stemmed from an imperishable faith in the people, in their intelligence and their patriotism the president estimated political results by ascertaining, as far as possible, the popular bearing of every bouncy question that was likely to arise, and he formed his conclusions by his keen intuitive perception as to how the people would be likely to deal with the issues (McClure 87).Lincoln was the sample candidate to handle the fractious political environment of post-bellum America. There were few political movements of national importance during Lincolns administration in which he did not actively, although often hiddenly, participate (McClure 85). Crossing political party lines, Lincoln successively galvanized Congress across partisan issues. The Civil War marginalized not only Southerners, but also Northern Democrats who were among the minority of said party to support the Union against the insurgency. The second inaugural address could not alienate the already marginalized lily-white Northern Democrats, as the actions of their Southern secessionist brethren made the antiauthoritarian Party something of a political pariah in the Unions eye .In the years preeminent to Lincolns re-election, Democrats in the Union never gave speeches, framed resolutions, or took any stance of progressive thought for fear of eschewing Southern Democratic support. The issue of slavery, for example, was pivotal in Democratic thought and political action. Though touted by the president as two hundred and fifty years of unrequited labor and inherently frowned upon by God and morality, slavery was a divisive issue among Northern Democrats to say the least (line 43). Though pockets of the North such as sensitive England were adamantly abolitionist, there was no significant shortage of support for the institution of slavery on the grounds of racial superiority. For every popular expression of the black man as human, there was a derisive counterpart that dehumanized the so-called Negro cause (McClure 88). Consequently, Lincoln faced problems among the Northern elite, who by using popular racist language and symbols managed to link popular sentiments to party agenda (McClure 89).Perhaps one of the most pivotal and important issues of the Lincoln administration, slavery and its abolition may very well have served as the archetype of social and political change for the American nation. Proponents of slavery were as such supportive of the institution for more than social or perceived moral imperative in addition to being burdened by the incapacitation of agrarian and some industrial facilities at the end of the Civil War, the Ame rican delivery would be burdened by the throwing of 4 million former slaves onto the world with virtually nothing no land, no savings, little or no schooling, no experience of politics, the legal organisation, or the free economy (Golay 208). Despite the presidents push for abolition and moral recompense with the equivocation of every sack of blood drawn with the lash to another drawn by the sword (lines 44-45), there was a rift in opinion over how best to deal with the economic windfall of supporting four million newly impoverished freed slaves. The president encountered significant opposition from both parties in supporting the freed slave Lincoln had established a bureau expected to protect the freed people, distribute emergency relief to the destitute, build an equitable free labor system, and establish a system of basic education throughout the South (Golay 208). The funding for the said bureau would naturally come from Reconstruction efforts, but few members of White Americ aNorth or Southwould give equal priority to freed black slaves as they would confederate states.Lincoln faced the spectre of two types of nationalism the nationalism delimitate by the then-predominantly Republican Union and the nationalism defined by what was a predominantly Democratic Confederacy. Jean Baker wrote in Affairs of Party The Political Culture of Democrats in the Mid-Nineteenth Century thatIn the years before the Civil War one way to express nationalism was to be a Democrat. close to Americans still suspected political parties of subversion, but by mid-century the Democracy had emerged as an institution through which citizens could celebrate devotion to their country and at the same time favour particular programs, leaders, and ideals. No longer was partisanship considered antirepublican. On the contrary, its nature tended to evoke sentiment for the Union and thus forced Southern separatists like toilet Calhoun and William Yancey to attempt a replacement. In the Nort h, however, the Democracy continued to inspire unity (Baker 318).Once dominant in the public eye, the Democrats were faced with a new challenge and a new bane to overcome in the regaining of the Unions trust. While the issue of partisan affiliation was not a event nearly as frequented then as it is today, a considerable Democratic identity was established with the disaffected South it was not for some time that the Democratic Party championed the Northern caucus. By comparison, Republicans in the mid-nineteenth century were equally as suspect to national dissolution, as the prevailing theme of the reigning Democratic party was inescapably nationalistic, focusing on the preservation of union, liberty, and constitution (Baker 318).Lincolns Second Inaugural Address became an insightful indicator of the requisite political, social, and economic changes that were inevitable in the reconstruction of post-bellum America. Galvanizing the countrys opposing social and political factions, Li ncolns address was a masterful piece of sermon that testified to both his earnest nature and shrewd understanding of not just politics, but the political climate of America and its fragile stasis. Its diction, alliteration, and religious allegories worked together in a patchwork of executive prestidigitation Lincolns delivery was almost a political sleight of hand in its theme and scope. Though he would be assassinated in a matter of a few months following the delivery of the speech, Lincoln achieved political normalcy in the wake of Americas most debilitating war, garnering the collective enmity of an entire half of a nation and the admiration of the remainder. To his opponents, Lincoln was a democratically-elected aspiring tyrant as evidenced by John Wilkes Booths infamous quote sic semper tyrannus. To his grateful and loyal supporters, however, Lincoln managed the unthinkable the abolition of slavery and the retention of American unity.BIBLIOGRAPHYBaker, Jean H. Affairs of Par ty The Political Culture of Northern Democrats in theMid-Nineteenth Century. Bronx Fordham U P, 1998.Golay, Michael. A Ruined Land The End of the Civil War. New York John Wiley Sons, 1999.McClure, Alexander K. Abraham Lincoln and Men of War-Times SomePersonalRecollections of War and Politics During the Lincoln Administration. Lincoln U of Nebraska P, 1997.Striner, Richard. Father Abraham Lincolns stiff Struggle to End Slavery.Oxford Oxford U P, 2006.Thurow, Glen E. American Political Religion. Albany State U of Albany P, 1976.White, Ronald C. Lincolns Greatest Speech The Second Inaugural. New YorkSimon Schuster Press, 2002.Rable, George C. The Confederate Republic A Revolution Against Politics