• um er 1nco n ore all20 0 LINCOLN'S SECOND INAUGURAL ADDRESS By Hon. Roger B. Cosbey
The windows of the house The view caused him to study Daily reports told of federal rattled with the March wind. the weather more closely. Though arsenals, storehouses, and causing its principal occupant to it was early morning, it was easy to shipyards falling into Confederate look out at the steel·gray dawn. see that today would be plagued hands (Miller 97). Observers could Soon, he thought, it would be time by cold and ram. The observation see the steady exodus of to leave. so he tapped the outside was ominous; this weather was government officials, military of his coat pocket for the even worse than at h1s first off1cers, and even Supreme Court reassuring crinkle of paper; yes, inaugural, an occasion which was Justices (Miller 105). And just in his inaugural address was there, followed by the fall of Fort Sumter case 1! might be necessary, the tucked away for the ride to the and a cascade of searing events. Treasury Building next door was turned into a sandbagged citadel, Capitol. He did not really need a Then, the capital city of the copy. of course, smce he had United States was virtually a potential Alamo (Guelzo 273; Miller 107). The situation was so dire that brooded about these matters for surrounded, so messages could the new Confederate secretary of years. Yet, his words would be reliably get out only by courier something unexpected for such an war suggested that Washington (M1IIer 103). Troops on their way to would likely fall into their hands in occas1on, and besides, they were help had to fight through mobs in meant for a audience, so he weeks, if not days (Miller 96). vast Baltimore (M111er 96). wanted to get them just nght. Defeat, the rending of the Union, perhaps the destruction of the Peenng intently into the country, had been a very near distance, he could just make out thing. the dark outline of Virginia, and through a curtain of early mist, Alexandria. He recalled how nearly four years ago a strange, menacing flag flew over that city (Miller 96). Now, that alarming presence was on the banks of the Potomac, having ebbed to a spot 100 miles away- the perimeter of General Robert E. Lee's breastworks outside Richmond and Petersburg. And although the Army of Northern Virginia was still there and dangerous, it was hemorrhaging. At times, 100 or more men a day crawled out from the cold, wet, vermin·filled trenches into the night, perhaps into Union lines, "The Ma ssachusetts Sixth Attacked When Marching Through Baltimore" but. just as likely, home (Wimk 32). From the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, #2874 LINCOLN LORE
Now, less than four years later, as the country marked the start of a new pres1dent1al term, only one thing seemed clear- that curiously, the war had accomplished something no one had really set out to do (Catton 583). Having started with no declared intention of freeing the slaves, the war was end1ng with over 186,000 black men wearing Union blue (M1IIer 301). In fact, today's inaugural parade would put an exclamat1on point on the change; amidst the usual d1gnitanes was a military escort of four compan1es of ·•colored troops" (Miller 396). He had always denounced slavery and intended to put it on a '"course of ultimate extinction'" ( (Guelzo 216), but the war and God's unseen hand were ftnally destroying 1!. At this portentous hour he would tell h1s fellow countrymen Kurz and Allison, his understanding "Storming Fort Wagner" 1890. of God's pu rpose From the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collectio n. and its meaning Lincoln Lore #71.2009.08 1.0437 for the future, and is the bulletin of that whatever THE ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC God's will may be, they must now work to achieve a just and lasting LIBRARY and THE FRIENDS OF THE peace for North and South, black and white, everyone together. All LINCOLN COLLECTION OF INDIANA this and more was on that paper in his pocket. ACPL: As we peer back through six Jo Burkhardt generations, Abraham Lincoln's re·election Cheryl Ferverda and second maugural seem quite natural, Cindy VanHorn practically foreordamed. But the reality Curt Witcher was something altogether different. Friends of the In the summer of 1864, the smart money Lincoln Collection: was on former General George McClellan, Sara Gabbard the presumptive Democratic cand1date Contributors: (M1ller 170). The reasons were obvious and Hon. Roger B. Cosbey daunt1ng. Harold Holzer The bright hopes for the military campaign of spnng 1864 soon darkened w1th the summer's savage fighting, Post Office Address resulting in nearly Union Box 11083 60,000 Fort Wayne, Indiana 46855 casualties in May alone (Miller 359). Frustration grew; the armies of both Sherman outside Atlanta and Grant Lincoln Lore® at Petersburg seemed like pathetic, Ceneral Ceorge 8. ISSN 0162-8615 big bugs stuck on flypaper, mighty in McClellan, no date. appearance but unable to move. From the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, #OC·0800 page 2 LINCOLN LORE Number 1895 Through the summer of 1864, lead•ng Republicans spoke to the Pres1dent m despair at h1s prospects; Thurlow Weed. the political boss of New York. conf1ded that h1s re-election "was an ImpoSSibility" (Goodwm 647). A gloomy Republican party was hearing open talk of nommatmg someone else; m fact. a splinter group of Republican Rad•cals and other malcontents, hopmg to split the party, d1d JUSt that, nominating as the1r candidate, John C. Fremont
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Now, wtth a stronger pollttcal mantfest 1ntoxtcat1on" (Goodwon 697). race of oppressed people ent1tled hand, lincoln urged another vote. Lincoln sat silently through t! all, to freedom and JUStice. and stnce Republicans already mostly wtth h1s eyes closed, Abraham lincoln was no supported the measure, he appeanng. as one observer noted. present-day Moses m possession lobbted fence-straddling "to rettre mto htmself as though of revealed. fundamental truths. Democrats (Good""'" 687). beset by melancholy reflecttons" After all, there was no deny1ng Ulltmately, through personal cOonald 565). The enttre episode did that hts own thmkmg (or at least persuaston and pollttcal favors, not end until ·outgotng that whtch he was wlllmg to the necessary votes were V1ce-Pres1dent Hann1bal Hamlin publicly express) had undergone a procured, and the "Kmg's cure for forc1bly tugged at Johnson's profound philosophical, and more all evils," as Lincoln put tl. passed coatta1ls to get h1m to stop" (Guelzo recently, theological evolution tn (Good"w•n 687-89. Whole, 1M E/oqu«ll 416). After Johnson took the oath the span of four years (W•toon 261). ,_, 298). of off1ce. Lmcoln leaned over to In his ftrst Message to Congress, But tt was now increasingly the parade marshal and on July 4, 1861. he descnbed the clear that, tn the words of General whtspered, "Do not let Johnson basis of the war m these stmple Lee, the Confederacy would "ftght speak outs1de." (Donald 565; M•tter terms: 396). to the last• (Won•k 38). Yet, there [The war] presents to the whole was the overndmg fear that the The President and h1s retinue family of man, the question, wily Lee mtght sttll be able to spilled out onto the wooden whether a constttutional republtc, elude Grant m the spnng and get platform at the east front of the or a democracy- a government of into the mountams after Vtrgtnta's Capttol, and as he was the people, by the same people mud-soaked roads tmproved recogmzed, "cheer upon cheer can, or cannot, maintain tiS (Wonok 39). The prospect meant arose. bands blatted upon the air, territorial integnty, against Its the possibiltty of a guenlla war and flags waved all over the own domestic foes. a conflict of revenge and scene" (Donntd 565). Once the noise (White, The Eloquent President 98). retribution, the type of war that retreated to the outer edges of the could etther delay restoration of crowd, the Prestdent stepped Even then, however, there was the Umon or impenltt altogether forward with hts speech printed a hint that he constdered the (Winlk 39). and pasted, line-by-line, on a contest as hingmg on more than stmply whether the only On top of all thts, the events of smgle page (Oonatd 566). "Just at democracy tn the world was about thts day would spark questtons that moment. the sun burst through the clouds and flooded to fly apart -that is, the Unton concerning hts new Vice was also ftghtmg to vindicate Prestdent, Andrew Johnson. the scene w1!h light." (Donald 566). As newspaperman Noah Brooks certam moral principles. lincoln Johnson, a pro-Umon Democrat explamed: and the military governor of reported. "(e]very heart beat Tennessee, had wanted to avotd qutcker at the unexpected omen.· Thts is esssentlally a People's the maugural and had asked to (Guetzo 416). Abraham lincoln's contest. On the stde of the Union, stay a little longer so that he heart was beatmg quicker, too. it is a struggle for mamtammg m could preside over the The swollen sea of faces, the world, that form, and newly-elected Tennessee state 50,000 by some estimates substance of government, whose legtslature (Donald 565). Lmcoln (Good'"" 697), looked up leading object is, to elevate the thought hts attendance m expectantly, but thts speech had condttion of men · to lift arttftcial Washmgton was more tmportant, no guaranteed applause lines. weights from all shoulders • to however, and so Johnson arrived Rather, 1! was crafted to evoke clear paths of laudable pursutt for exhausted and til from the thmk1ng. to suggest the cause and all· to afford all, an unfettered lingenng effects of typhotd fever meanmg of the nat10n's ftery trial. start, and a fair chance, m the (Donald 565). Ustng whtskey to clear H1s real aud1ence stretched far race oflife. his mmd, the "cure" seemed to beyond those huddled agamst the (Wlute, The Eloquent PrHodent 98. have the oppostte effect (Donald wmd and ram; he was speaking Wilson98). 565). Hts speech m the Senate today to both North and South, chamber was a long, rambling those seeking revenge, and those affair that suggested "a state of soon to be vanqutshed, and to a
page 4 LINCOLN LORE Number 1895
As Lincoln saw the unfolding and why the ·mcreased devot1on" for the first t1me, "the central contest, it would either vindicate the and sacrifices called for at riddle of human existence" "leading object• of the Declaration Gettysburg (and pursued since (Catton 584). of Independence, the core principle then by even more "honored By that time, a year mto the that "all men are created equal, • or dead") had not yet yielded a new war, if Abraham Lincoln had any it would establish forever the cynical "birth of freedom." comfortable assumptions about proposition that power and some Lincoln had been pondering its natural outcome, they were notion of a superior hierarchy were these matters for some time. overwhelmed by the reality of all that counted in the world (Mrller His thoughts surfaced in concrete defeat and mountmg losses. 150). In Lincoln's view, the form early in 1864 in private It was therefore natural for a man Secessionists· argument that they correspondence, but they were who constantly sought the were throwing off the yoke of not new even then (Wilson 253). philosophical meaning behind tyranny, much as an earlier Some two years earlier he penned events to consider, and at times generation of Americans had done, a few sentences, probably after guardedly express doubts about, was a cruel mockery of that effort; he the defeat at Second Bull Run, the North's war a1ms (Wolson 254). felt their position was a and flied them away (Guelzo 326). After all, securing both the Union masquerade, anarchy wearing What his secretaries, John Hay and popular democratic liberty's clothes (Mrfler 150). and John Nicolay, later found and government, while noble, must Two years later, his words at called his Meditation on the not be what the Almighty intended Gettysburg forged an even Divine Wi II offered these from this war or a Northern stronger bond between the war's fragmentary thoughts: v1ctory would already have been achieved; and as for slavery, purpose and the Declaration's The will of God prevails. In great could it be that God was going egalitarian tone by asking the contests each party claims to act to leave it in place and turn away American people to see the in accordance with the will of from a triumphant "vindication of conflict as a test, "whether that God. Both l2l2X be, and one l!llill freedom" (Guelzo 326)? nation or any nation so conceived be wrong. God can not be f.w:, [on the "proposition" that "all and against the same thing at the And so, as the war stretched men are created equal") ... can same time. In the present civil on, Abraham Lincoln's mind long endure.'' Therefore, as he war it is quite possible that God's sought a theological explanation went on to say, to prevail, the purpose is something different for why God was requiring the American people must do more from the purpose of either party nation to walk through a sea of than simply dedicate a national and yet the human blood (Wilson 262; Guetzo 414). cemetery, they must dedicate the instrumentalities, working just Surely, God's inscrutable nation, and themselves, to putting they do, are of the best adaptation purposes, and the nation's hopes. down a rebellion that was a to effect His purpose. I am almost were not perfectly aligned betrayal of the country's organic ready to say this is probably true (Guelzo 327 ·28). ideals. that God wills this contest. and It would have been astonishing What was so elusive about wills that it shall not end yet. to those who knew Abraham these beliefs, however, so By his mere quiet power, on the Lincoln (his former law partner mystenous as a matter of minds of the now contestants. and confidant, William Herndon, theological or philosophical He could have either~ or for example, or his secretary. understanding, was why these destroyed the Union without a John Nicolay) to hear that he was noble. just, and righteous goals human contest. Yet the contest thinking about God's purposes had not been rewarded with a began. And having begun He (Guelzo 312. 325; Wilson 261). swift, or earlier, victory (Goelzo 414). could give the final victory to Today, at his second inaugural, he either side any day. Yet the Most likely, Lincoln began his would tell the American people contest proceeds. presidency something of a why the "question" he posed to (emphasis an ongmal) (WIISOfl 254). skeptic; as one leading historian, Congress nearly four years before Allen Guelzo. notes, he was Clearly then, the Almighty had largely then a man who promoted remained unanswered; why the his purposes, but what could they "People's contest" had not only "a civil religton of ... morality be? At age fifty· three, Abraham and [who practiced) a private endured but may even continue; Lineal n was confronting, perhaps
page 5 Number 1895 LINCOLN LORE
non·religion composed of ' laws"' to remove an asset from one Now, with Divme assurance, he (Guetzo 325). And, if he saw the side's ledger so it could be added would free the slaves in order to handtwork of God at all, it was in to another's; a matter of simple save the Union, reconciling his the basic assumption that arithmetic (Guetzo 347·48). Events moral beliefs with hts legal duty eventually, through some sort of had also taught him that the (Miller 261). From this day on, the Divine intervention, the whisperings of Provtdence must Union that lincoln wanted to save "monstrous mjustice" of slavery be heeded; no longer would he was not one that included slavery would yield to some immutable conclude that God was remote (Miller 266). natural law (Guelzo 188; M1ller 404). and that the progress of humanity As late as April 1864, eleven One thtng seems reasonably would unfold naturally, with months before his inaugural, justice eventually tnumphant sure. lincoln never talked about lincoln offered public remarks his religious beliefs, let alone any (Guetzo 336). So, as he later recounting that whatever had private spiritual journeys, and he explained to his cabinet, he made happened in the war, and never became what one would a private vow to God: give the whatever would happen, "was Union a victory (a clear mdication characterize as "conventionally precisely what God wanted to of Divine Will), and he would move rehgious" (W1tson 261). Although he happen" (Wilson 254). These words would attend Presbytenan forward with the proclamation revealed for pubI ic dtsplay what churches with Mary in both composed and sitting in his desk would become ' the intellectual (Guelzo 341 ). Springfield and Washington, he core of the [future) Second never made a profession of faith, In September, Antietam proved Inaugural' (Wilson 254). joined a denomination, or victory enough and revealed to So now, with the death knell accepted any particular religious lmcoln why God had brought this of the Confederacy, stayed only war; as he surmised in the creed (Miller 406). But things by Robert E. lee's dimintshed seemingly changed after their son Meditation, it had been army, Abraham lincoln, the Willie died in February 1862. "something different" than the unpopular incumbent nearly Mary certainly sensed it purpose of etther party (Guetzo 341). sacked by his own party and because for the first time her whose re·election had been husband began to think about written off, faced perhaps his religion and to question God's purposes; the war only fueled this growing religiosity (W11son 251·52; Guelzo 325). A confluence of events and lincoln's religious awakening seem to have played a hand in the one gambit that would have been unthinkable at the start of the war, emancipation of the slaves. Equally astounding was his reason for why emancipation must be done - a private vow fulfi lied by God (Guetzo341). From lincoln's point of view, prosecuting the war meant that slavery- the institution that united the Southern people, sustained the Confederate war effort, and provided food for its armies must be turned in favor of the Max Rosenthal, "Battle of Antietam" 1865. Union (Guetzo 336). The From the Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, Emancipation Proclamation was #71.2009.081.0594 a practical war measure, an effort
page 6 LINCOLN LORE Number 1895 greatest challenge, peacefully at the flfsl. Then a statement, landed with a thud among those reu niting two parts of a warring somewhat in detail, of a course to expecting somethtng hopeful and nation. A vengeful reconstruction, be pursued, seemed fitting and encouraging (Goodw•n 698). But the a rurnous guenlla war, the likely proper. Now, at the expiration of words were meant to convey the release of thousands of slaves four years, during which public 1mpression that he had a spectfic these thmgs and more threatened declarations have been constantly point to make, and indeed he was any hope of a lasting peace; but called forth on every point and soon moving on to recall the just as clearly, the nation could phase of the great contest which events surrounding his first not return to "what the war had still absorbs the attention, and inaugural, a useful context to destroyed" (Catton 584). So, during engrosses the enerergies [sic} of understand the "limitations of the week leading up to the the nation, little that is new could human purposes" (Tackach 135; inauguration, Lincoln announced be presented. The progress of our White, Unco/n's Gteatest Speech 124). he would "not receive callers"; he arms, upon which all else chiefly As Lincoln put it: needed to devote time to crafting depends, is as well known to the On the occasion corresponding to a speech that just might lay the public as to myself; and it is, I this four years ago, all thoughts foundation for reconciliation trust, reasonably satisfactory and were anxiously dlfected to an (Goodwin 697). encouraging to all. With high impendmg civil war. All dreaded it hope for the future, no prediction After four years of bitter -all sought to avert it. While the f1ghting and recrimination, to in regard to it is ventured. inaugural address was being articulate the notion that both delivered from this place, devoted sides were to blame for the cause altogether to~ the Union of the war was brilliantly sublime. without war, insurgent agents But this was not merely rhetoric. were in the city seeking to destroY Lincoln actually saw the war as it without war- seeking to being "about the violation of those dissol{v}e the Union, and divide inalienable rights spoken of in the effects, by negotiation. Both Declaration, and that complicity parties deprecated war; but one of in the offense of slavery was not them would make war rather than confined to the Confederacy, but let the nation survive; and the rather extended to the entire other would acceot war rather country, North and South'' than let it perish. And the war (Wilson 262). Both sides had offered came. (emphasis in original). liberal helpings of scripture to For the f1rst and last time the support their positions, and speech was interrupted by Lincoln intuitively turned there for applause (White. Unco/n's Gteatest Speech (Wilson his argument 262·263). 182). In Lincoln's version of So, on that Capitol platform, as events, nobody wanted the war he glanced down at the crowd and and no one started it; the war just then at his speech, the moment came, with no more human had arrived for Abraham Lincoln Lincoln's second inauguration, initiative, involvement, or control to speak of shared blame, shared March 4 , 1865. than would exist over the coming cost, and a shared victory- a From the Lincoln Financial of a summer storm or any other triumph "of all men together over Foundation Collection, #0-1 06 Act of God. a common affliction" (Calton 584). But now Lincoln offered some First, however, he offered a history as he set the stage for a matter-of-fact opening (Wi lson 268). Lincoln apparently thought surprising scriptural explanation These are Lincoln's words: this might bring some applause for such a phenomenon, phrases Fellow-Countrymen because, as a reporter noted, he a church-going audience would At this second appearing to take paused, but none came (While, have heard before: the oath of the presidential office, L•ncoln'sGteatostSpeech 182). This flat, there is less occasion for an business-like pronouncement extended address than there was
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One-eighth of the whole population Lincoln lifts a jarnng passage Lincoln then offers a hopeful were colored slaves, not distributed from the book of Matthew (18:7], prayer, that God in His wisdom generally over the Union, but followed by what he sees as God's wi II see that the Amencan people, localized in the Southern part of message (Tackach 135; Miller407): both North and South, have been punished enough for the sin of it. These slaves constituted a ·woe unto the world because of slavery: peculiar and powerful interest. offenses! for it must needs be that All knew that this interest was, offenses come; but woe to that Fondly do we hope-fervently do somehow, the cause of the war. man by whom the offense we pray-that this mighty scourge To strengthen, perpetuate, and cometh!' If we shall suppose that of war may speedily pass away. extend this interest was the object American Slavery is one of those But, L1ncoln warned, if God is for which the insurgents would offenses which, in the providence rend the Union, even by war; truly wielding a scourge, if of God, must needs come, but retribution must still be sought while the Government claimed no which, having continued through right to do more than to restrict for over two centuries of infamy, His appointed time, He now wills then the war may continue- if the territorial enlargement of it. to remove, and that He gives to Neither party expected for the that is God's will - if that is what both North and South, this terrible must be done to end slavery: war, the magnitude. or the war, as the woe due to those by duration, which it has already whom the offense came, shall we Ye t, if God wills that it continue, attained. Neither anticipated that discern therein any departure until all the wealth piled by the the~ of the conflict might from those divine attributes which bond·man's two hundred and fifty cease with. or even before, the the believers in a living God years of unrequited toil shall be conflict itself should cease. always ascribe to Him? sunk, and until every drop of blood Each looked for an easier triumph, (emphasis in orisinal). drawn with the lash, shall be paid and a result less fundamental and by another drawn with the sword, astounding. Both read the same Douglas Wi lson. a preeminent as was said three thousand years Bible and pray to the same God; Lincoln scholar, calls "the idea of ago, so still it must be said •the and each invokes His aid against Northern complic1ty in the offense judgments of the Lord, are true the other. It may seem strange of slavery," the "master rhetorical and righteous altogether. • that any men should dare to ask a stroke" of the address (Wilson 272). just God's assistance in wringing Lincoln underscores this shared their bread from the sweat of responsibility by referring to the other men's faces; but let us institution as not simply "slavery," judge not, that we be not judged. but "American Slavery." (White. The The prayers of both could not be Eloquent Prestdent 296) Here, Lincoln is answered; that of neither has recalling that slavery never been answered fully. The ex1sted in a vacuum; in fact, it Almighty has His own purposes. could not have survived if the (emphasis 1n original). North had not aided and abetted its culture and economy (Miller 240). Lincoln's even·handedness Northern industries wove cotton reveals that at some point, picked by slaves, some Northern perhaps while sitting in those states prohibited entry to even church pews with Mary, he had free blacks lest they compete with absorbed one of the basic tenets whites for jobs, and the entire of the Christian religion (Wilson 271). country winked at a clandestine God's purposes were larger than slave trade that profited Northern A slave named Gordon who escaped from Mississippi to he or the country had first come shipyards but which brought to see. The war came because it Union lines in Louisiana. misery to thousands (Miller 240·241). He was photographed by was God's "punishment for the Yes, the time for the removal of offense of slavery, an offense for medical officers being slavery had finally come, but this mustered Into the service wh1ch both sides, North as well as terrible war was punishment for where he later became a South, were to blame and to all (Guelzo 417). corporal in the Union Army. whom punishment was therefore From the Lincoln Financial due" (Wilson 271). For effect, Foundation Collection, #OC· /103
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Th1s last phrase comes from (Whole, The Eloquent President Perhaps Ltncoln's greatest the Ntneteenth Psalm and 303). Abraham Loncoln had JUSt compliment, however, at least in answers the earlier question forty-two days to live. hos voew, came from an ex-slave, Loncoln posed concernong why the The newspaper accounts of the Fredenck Douglass. At forst ·woe• of war had descended upon speech took a predoctably Douglass had been a frequent the country; 1t was Simply one of critiC of Ltncoln's polocoes, but part1san turn (Mathafer 239). Lincoln the "d1vine attnbutes" of probably expected as much. But woth tome and acquatntanceshtp. Providential Judgment, mysterious he took pride on hos wntong and he grew to be a strong supporter to the f1ntle mond but 1nf1ntlely Joked a compliment as much as (Wttoon 277). Each man admored "true and nghteous altogether.· anyone, so when he received a the other. At the receptoon that Lmcoln was ask1ng the Amencan letter of congratulations from evening. Douglass was forst turned people to see these events unfold Thurlow Weed. he responded: away by guards, because of hos With the fatth of Job, and woth hos race, but eventually gamed own faith as well (Guet:o 327). I expect the (Inaugural Address] admiss1on through the to wear as well as-perhaps Having offered a f1erce, President's onterventlon (Mille< 416). better than- any thing I have There, on the greeting line, Lincoln unequovocal condemnatoon of a produced; but I believe it is not great moral wrong, Uncoln closes asked Douglass's oponoon of the immediately popular. Men are not address, addtng that "there os no with the words for whoch the flattered by being shown that speech is best known. Sweepong man on the country whose oponion there has been a dtfference of in ots call for magnammoty and I value more than yours. • purpose between the Almighty Douglass replied, "Mr. Lincoln, healing, but woth a firmness of and them. To deny 1t, however, in purpose, ot is dorected to those that was a sacred effort." (Oonotd this case, is to deny that there is a 568). And so it was. Northerners who would punosh the God governing the world. It is a rebels, but also speaks to the truth which I thought needed to Standing there on that cold white South and lheor former be told . ... March day 145 years ago, in effect, slaves, raosing the visoon of a on the nation's front porch, (Wilson 276; Mlller401). chenshed and lastong peace Abraham Lincoln could see that tempered woth JUStice. These are slavery was doomed in part as a Lincoln's final words: result of his Emancopation Wllh maltce toward none; w1th Proclamatoon, and was about to chaflty tor all; with ftrmness in the be formally banoshed through more right, as God gives us to see the of his work, the Thirteenth right, let us strtve on to fmish the Amendment. Soon, that Constotut1on work we are in; to bmd up the and freedom would stretch as far nation's wounds; to care for him as the moght of Unoon arms. who shall have borne the battle, But whole the lash could be and tor his widow, and his stayed, Abraham Uncoln knew hts orphan-to do all which may words alone would not spare thos ach1eve and cherish a just, and a scourge from the nation's back lasting peace, among ourselves, the haunting legacy of human and with all nat1ons. bondage. Yet, he could offer thiS In all, 1t barely took love vision: until God removes all the minutes. Almost immedoately, ills borne to thts country by the sin of slavery, the Amerocan Chief Justoce Chase appeared at Lincoln's elbow to admontster the people have a ·great task" oath of offoce, and then tt was remainong before them, that os. to act "woth maloce toward none, over (Guetzo 420). The Presodent [and] woth chanty for all." and hos party turned to go onto the Capolol, passong even closer now Frederick Douglass, no date. Because when the day of to the upper balustrade where From the Lincoln Financial absolu!ton comes, as ot surely will, among the packed crowd stood a Foundation Collection, future generations will know a JUSt #OC-0553 seething John Wilkes Booth and enduring peace.
page 9 Number 1895 LINCOLN LORE Today, in our nation's cap1tal, Bibliography a pensive statue of Abraham Lincoln Collection lincoln rests w1thm a columned Catton, Bruce. The American Heritage Programming memonal. Go there day or n1ght, New History of The Civil War. at the and you will see fellow Americans, (New York: Penguin Bool
page 10 S:ving se~ed as Chairm !~T~ ~~!~~ bi~!!~are~l~~~~o~ th~m~r~~=n~irresistible, provocative, I of the Abraham Lincoln engaging, and inspiring to readers, writers, and filmmakers all over the country Bicentennial Commission, and the world; and (2) it may be impossible ever again to successfully engage the you are in a unique position truly broad American public in a universal civic celebration like the Lincoln to comment on the lessons Centennial or the 1976 National Bicentennial. As we become more and more which can be learned from diverse, yet more and more connected not to each other but to our personal this celebration, including devices (and less to communities and the commonweal) the attraction oflarge, your thoughts on the celebratory group events without the extra added attraction of, soy, fireworks, continued interest in the life mash pits, and organized sports, has diminished. The very idea of uniting around of our 16"' President. iconic heroes is challenged every day by the ridiculous yet growing belief that everyone with a blag is as worthy a public commentator as James Reston or William Saflre were. Inevitably, we will have to learn how to manage 21"-century •mass-appeal• events in new and different ways-over the web and through new media we haven't even imagined yet-and this, to hove a broad reach, will require enormous amounts of money. Where will it come from? That's the challenge to future generations. Against this tide, I do think our Commission created a very sound legacy-and managed some excellent events throughout the country, marshalling its limited resources well, thanks in large part to a wonderful staff I think our greatest accomplishment, frankly, was a more difficult one to quantify: stirring interest and passionate energy among writers, publishers, documentarians, universities, and scholars, inspiring fabulous and enriching conferences, books, TV specials, and town meetings throughout the country. I should conclude by saying that the Bicentennial's own series of Town Halls-from Newark to Miami to Los Angeles-engaged citizens in a lively, if sometimes unsettling, discussion of Lincoln's reputation and the difficult legacy ofrace. And this idea was born in Fort Wayne, thanks to ALBC Commissioner Joan Flinspach.
Please comment on the We have high hopes for the Foundation, which I am much honored to chair. ongoing "successor We have leftover funding as well as the expectation ofsome $2 million in matching organization," The Abraham funds from the U. S. Mint thanks to the huge popularity of the Bicentennial Coin Lincoln Bicentennial honoring Lincoln at Gettysburg-the theme originated by Commissioner Gabor Foundation, and your role in Boritt. While it is unlikely we will create events, we will definitely want to support planning for the future and mold events, and our goal is to keep Lincoln in the forefront over the next five presentation and years as we switch gears from the Bicentennial to the Civil War sesquicentennial. prese~ation of Lincoln's There is much work to be done in curriculum development in our schools, which legacy. have emerged from the slight blip of 2009 teaching less U.S. history, sadly, not more. We hope scholars who turned to the Lincoln theme last year will continue to explore new ideas, stories, analyses. We con never hove enough.
May readers be directed to Yes. Thanks to the good work of Foundation Boord Member Orville Vernon Burton, a specific website or mailing the ALBC website has been transferred to the University of Illinois, where it will be address in order to follow the maintained and enhanced over the years under Foundation guidance. activities of the Foundation? The URL remains almost the same: http://www.abrahamlincoln200.org
page 11 Numl1er 1895 LINCOLN LORE
2011 will begtn the Whot on opportunity the Foundation has: the 150th anniversary, in ---, sesqutcentennial observance chronological order, of the inauguration, the decision to supply Fort Sumter, I of each year of the Civil War. the emancipation, the Gettysburg Address, the 1864 election. We wont to What approach should be maintain and enlarge interest and appreciation of the vital and not1on-olrering taken? What lessons should be role Lincoln played during this period: as controversial politician, taught? How should lincoln's commander-in-chief of the largest army in the history of the world, as o role be presented? revolutionary who ended slavery in America, and as on oracle who defined democracy in the most stirring words in our literature. Surely this Is o legacy worth discussing, deliberating, and celebrating-Into the future. The Foundation will support, I hope, many efforts to keep this dialogue going.
Putttng you on the spot: ~is really is a difficult question-not because it's hard to collect the names of Please list the persons you Lincoln's confidants and advisors, but because Lincoln himself was sa believe had the most influence independent o thinker, so solitary on operator, and frankly so odro1t and on Abraham Lincoln. sometimes secretive o politician who rather enjoyed keeping everyone off balance. He inwted advice, bur he often ignored it, insistmg he was guided by principle, or in the case of emancipation, by God. It's hard to offer advice that contradicts Heaven. Moreover, Lincoln tended to drop his mentors and advisors once he moved to new levels of professional and personal life: hence, Mentor Graham, o New Solem friend, disappears from his story once Lincoln leaves town. He listens to William Herndon's anti-slavery views, but Herndon is left behind In Springfield in 1861. Judge David W. Davis he respects on politico/ strategy, yet for a time he leaves him unrewarded, too-and Do vis bitterly complains that he feels used and ignored. In Washington, I think he respects (and detests) Chose and finds Seward compelling and something of o conquest. I think he trusts Halleck for some bizarre reason, and certomly listens to experts like William Whttmg (on presidential powers), especially when they validate his ••• ••u•• own policies. If I hove to choose *most influential* I will toke o dtfferent path: Sarah Bush Lincoln, who brought books into his life; Thomas Lincoln (his father) for showmg h1m how miserable life could be if you hod no ambition for upward mobility; Mary Lmcoln, who prodded, inspired, and pushed him, and elevated him too new social status; and Frederick Douglass, who showed him that blocks could nor only be equal to whites, but in some instances their superiors.
How do you approach a new "Cooper Union• was a truly happy occident. 1 was sitting at a Lincoln Forum book or project? For instance, dinner honoring David Donald. Doris Goodwin was on my right, and on my left did you make a specific decision was Alice Mayhew, o longtime friend ond David's and Doris's editor at Simon to write about Cooper & Schuster. And Alice said to me: ·s & S really has quite o library of Lincoln's Union.. .or did the thought occur greatest words: Garry Wills on the Gettysburg Address, Ron White on the as you were researching Second Inaugural, and I just signed Allen Guelzo on the EmancipatiOn another topic. Proclamation. • For some reason-sudden inspiration, adrenaline fueling competitive juices, New York spirit, or all of the above-/ blurted out, *why not o book on the Cooper Union address-it mode Lincoln president/* And Alice replied: *Send me a proposal.• So I did. And the rest is ... well, you know.
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You seem to be equally at ease I do like to do both-but of course it's much more challenging, much more as an editor and as an author. demanding, to write a narrative history than It is to arrange documents or Do you prefer one approach or lectures and articles into o collection-not that the Iotter is simple-it's like the other? putting together the pieces ofa jigsaw puzzle. I make many demands on myself for books like "Lincoln at Cooper Union" ond "Lincoln President-Elect" that is, not just to provide an analytical approach to o problem or a situation, but to dig deeply into original sources, and use contemporary accounts almost exclusively; above all to create a text that makes readers feel they are with Lincoln and the places in which he lives or visits. I read my reviews pretty closely, and sometimes I'm faulted for seeing the world through Lincoln's eyes in these situations, but that's exactly what I try to do. The best compliments I ever receive are from readers or critics who say, "He made me feel like I was there." To me, that's the whale idea.
What are your most recent Ready foro long answer, I hope? My good friend Craig Symonds and I just publications? Your future finished putting together a massive collection called "The New York Times: projects? The Complete Civil War," a book offering the best of the newspaper's reports between 1860 and 1865, with some ante-bellum and Reconstruction news thrown in jar context. We provide an introduction and chapter introductions. And the package comes with a CD· ROM featuring everything the Times ever published on the period-sa it will be a good read and o great resource for serious students, tao. To top it off, we're honored that President Clinton provided o prologue that I think will stimulate o great deal ofdiscussion- and cause us all to re-think whether we really hove a non-partisan press today. As usual, I'm working an additional projects as well: I'm doing a regular column now for "America's Civil War" on Sesquicentennial issues that provoke thought about current events (and from the early reader response I think I'm succeeding at least in being provocative/). With Fronk Williams ond Tom Horrocks, I'm editing o collection of Harvard Lectures called "The Living Lincoln." I hove my own new book coming out in spring called "Lincoln on War, • a collection of the most important (and little-known) things he said or wrote on the subject that consumed his entire presidency-which I think will shaw that, myths notwithstanding, Lincoln was more tough than tender, more a fighter than a forgiver, as commander-in-chief. I also have o young readers' book coming about Lincoln and his sons called "Father Abraham." And I've edited o book ofhighlights from "Battles & Leaders of the Civil War• called "Hearts Touched By Fire, • with new introductory contributions from James McPherson, Bud Robertson, Stephen Sears, Joan Waugh, and Craig Symonds. Finally (for now), the great Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has invited me to deliver the Nathan Huggins Lectures at Harvard's W. E. B. DuBois Institute in October 2010-a daunting and exciting challenge, and one that might hopefully lead to another book: I'm going to look at Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in text and context, words and images. That's it for now-except for my big long-term project, "The Press in the Age ofLincoln, • a jew year's off (if I make it through this year).
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Another questoon to put Before commenting I would like to soy that I hove always found this a bit of o you on the spot: In your dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pin debate. What a President utters or signs belongs in o oponoon, did lincoln President's canon of words, whoever drafted the draft! The speculation about Bixby is wrote the Bixby lener? interesting, but aren't we tmposing on unreasonable standard on Lmcoln? Does anyone soy Ronald Reagan did not give that brilliant speech about the death of the astronauts-because after off Peggy Noonan wrote it? That said, I happen to think Lincoln probably wrote the Bixby letter himself-it was a statement he knew would be Npicked upNi n the press and I don't think he would hove handed it off to John Hoy or anyone else.
Harold Holzer Is: Senior Vice President, External A/fairs, The Metropolitan M useum of Art Co-Founder and Vice Chairman of the Lincoln Forum
Former Co-Chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation
Author/Edttor of36 books on Abraham Lincoln ------~~·~·~~·~~~
Indiana State Museum Programs for 2011 201 1 Mu;ter in the Park (Civil War re('nactment in Military Park), Al.lgust 20 &. 21 , 2011
Ongoing Programs: A ('.1e('ting of the Minds: Abraham lincoln and Frederick Douglass i> available throughout the 'tate a> p.1rt of the lcg.tcy Theater Outreach Program, a' art• tndl\tdual performances of Abraham Lim.:oln, Frl'
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Books about Lincoln's Era Great Triumvirate: W ebst er, Clay, a nd Calhoun by Merrill D. Peterson Although thousands upon thousands of books hove been The story of the three men who dominated American written about Abraham Lincoln, it is frequently helpful to political thought and discourse during their long years of read books which cover the history ofthe time during which service. he lived. With this thought in mind, the following books ore Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln recommended for your perusal: by Sean Wilentz. A Country of Vas t Designs: James K. Polk, the This book traces politico/ and philosophical development Mexican War, and the Conquest of the American in the United States during our •growing period. • Continent by Robert M erry. +J Rise a nd Fall of th e American Whig Party: This book gives a vivid picture ofthe concept of Manifest Ul Jacksonian Politics and the Onset of the Civil War Destiny and the powerful lure of Westward movement to the by Michael Holt. every-questing frontiersmen. J It is impossible to understand Lincoln's politico/ philosophy Age ofJackson by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Cl withovt understanding the Whig Pony, ond this book is on Although first copyrighted in 1945, this book remains o excellent source. notable biography of the presidency of Andrew Jackson. c Theology in Am erica: Christian Thought America's God: From Jonathan Edwards '0·- from th e Age of th e Puritans to the Civil W ar to Abraham Lincoln by M ark Noll. ro by E. Brooks Holifield. In addition to coverage ofthis vost subject, the author Is It is Impossible to sll/dy American History ofthe 19'• Century especially helpful in his descriptions of the use ofreligion without studymg the religious sentiment of the time. to fortify both Northern ond Southern views ofslavery. ~ Thoreau: A Life of the Mind by Robert Richardson Jr. American Bloomsbury by Susan Cheever. While perhaps not exactly in the mainstream ofAmerican This is the story of Concord, Massachusetts, and the notable '0 thought during Lincoln's ero, Thoreau remains one ofovr intellectuals who lived there during the 1840s and 1850s most jose/noting individuals. His view of self and including: Bronson and Louisa May Alcott; Ralph Waldo ~ surroundings frequently re-surfaces to inspire yet another Ul generation of students. Emerson; Nathaniel Hawthorne; and Henry David Thoreau. Q) American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House Tocquevil/e's Discovery of America by Jon Meacham Cl by leo Damrosch. This is one of several books which help to explain the Cl For a reader who is not ;nterested in tockllng the daunting controversial figure who gove his nome to on oge. ::J Democracy in America~ this book is an excellent combination of Tocqueville's journey In the United State combined with American Transcendentalism by Philip Gura. V) liberal examples of direct quotations from Democracy. A comprehensive view ofthe intellectuol/philosophicol movement which produced some of America's most unique Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson thinkers during o relatively briefperiod of time. by David Reynolds. As with his book about Whitman, Reynolds again succeeds in Arguing about Slavery: John Quincy Adams and explaining not only o historical figure but also the oge in the Great Battle in the United States Congress which he lived. by William Lee M iller. This Is the foscmoting story of Former Pres•dent John Quincy Walt Whitman's America: A Cultural Biography Adams (Coiled Old Man Eloquent by his colleagues) as he by David Reynolds valiantly fought against Southern efforts to delay/stolf/prohibit This is perhaps the best book I have ever read which discussion of slavery In the U. S. Congress. combines the biography of an individual with the story of the time in which he lived. Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. Considered by many to be the best book ever written about What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation the United States by o foreigner, it might arguably be coiled of America, 1815-1848 by Daniel Walker Howe. the best book ever written about the United States by While several recent books cover this critical time in the anyone. history of the United States, Howe's work must be counted as one of the best. Emerson: The Mind on Fire by Robert Richardson Jr. As with his biography on Thoreau, the author provides valuable insight into the mind of on American treasure. [Editor's note: This is in no woy Intended to be o Henry Clay: The Essential American comprehensive Jist. It is meant only to scratch the surface of by DavidS. and Jeanne T. Heidler. possible reading material. Sora Gabbard) A new (2010) book about the man who had enormous influence on the political thought of Abraham Lincoln.
page IS Numbu 1895 UNCOLN LORE
Digitization of the Lincoln Collection Indiana
When the Lincoln Financ1al Foundaf.Jon gifted the collection of the former Lmcoln Museum to the State of Indiana, provisions were made to house the collection at two institutions: the Allen County Public L1brary Digitization process by m Fort Wayne and the lnd1ana State Museum Internet Archive located in the in Indianapolis. Allen County Public Library, One of the ma1or goals was to digitize the entire collection, usmg staff and equipment at the Allen County Public L1brary. The process will allow anyone in the world w1th access to a computer to use the collection for research, and 11 IS being funded by Fflends of the Lincoln Collect1on of lnd1ana, Inc. D1g1t1zation of the Lincoln Collection has begun. As of late October, over 3,300 books, more than 653,000 pages and nearly 350 foldouts have been digitized and made ava1lable on the Internet. There have been more than 43,000 downloads of this material with more being uploaded every day. The cost of this is about 10 cents per page and $2 per foldout. A very little cost to make this material access1ble to people all over the world. To access this collect1on you may come to the Allen County Public Library's homepage at acpl.info and click on the Lincoln 1mage. There is a link to the collection at that site. You may also fmd it at http://www.archive.org/details/allen_county or at http://www .archive.org/ detai ls/lincolncollection.
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