Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

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Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, was delivered March 4, 1865. During this time, he was in the process of attempting to mend both sides of the war. Instead of giving a victory speech to the North or a blame filled speech to the South, he instead spoke to both of them, in the attempt to have war reconciliation. In his address, Lincoln discusses slavery and the war between the North and South. This leads readers to believe he is talking to all citizens of the United States. We know he references the South when he states, “One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it” (p 3). In this quote, he directly singles out the South, but he mentions the North when he says, “It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of another men’s faces…” (p 3) This represents both the South and the North because he is asking how they can both participate in such acts, yet both ask God for assistance in helping them succeed in taking out...

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