LAD #19: President Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address

President Abraham Lincoln had already served one term before being elected to his second. The Inaugural Address that was given at his second inauguration had great meaning to the nation although it was the shortest Inaugural speech ever given. Lincoln emphasized that although the United States was attempting to avoid war, men from both the North and South were continually heightening the animosity and planning to fight. He points out that neither side was completely correct in their accusations, implying that both were to blame. Lincoln also addressed that the government desired to limit the territorial expansion of slavery, however Americans and their contrasting ideas turned the conflict into one of bloody disputes. He also touches on the fact that the length of the Civil War, as well as it's brutality could never have been predicted which led to the America being disunified especially in the social, political, and economic sense. Lincoln ended his sadness tinged speech by clearly emphasizing that Reconstruction would be long and difficult but indubitably possible.