Last Lincoln Blog

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, in his Second Inaugural Address, claims that the South caused the war, and due to differences on both sides, the war was simply unavoidable. Lincoln supports this assertion by first summarizing the causes of the war, and then discussing his hope for reconstruction of the South. His main goal is to show the South as the producer of the war and depict how their future will look like, whether with vengeance or rebuilding. He uses a strong voice to address the whole country, but specifically calls out the South. 

Upon reading Lincoln’s speech, I found a few points that resounded with me. Lincoln points to the South as the perpetrators and calls for the blood of slavery to be redeemed. This was a strong statement, and at first glance, it seems that the South has two options: win and live or lose and die. Luckily, Lincoln doesn’t leave them out in the dry because he offers a solution to their troubles, which is “to bind up the nation’s wounds.” One of the most important traits in a leader is to fix the enemy and not neutralize them. This task is not an easy one because as we have seen in history, sometimes a nuclear bomb gets the job done. However, sometimes coming to an even ground with the enemy allows a chance to reach peace. Lincoln wants to “win the peace,” and this characteristic defines him as a good leader.