LAD #19: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Abraham Lincoln giving his Second Inaugural Address

Lincoln starts off the speech to say there is not much to say that people do not already know. He says that although his initial goal was to keep the nation from war, both parties saw war as a necessity, and carried on as such. Lincoln goes on to address the issue of slavery and how although nobody admitted it, the interest in slavery was the underlying cause of the war. He talks about God, and how although both sides had prayed to him for victory, only one side could be answered. He says God will judge those who kept the slaves from their freedom (the south), and closes by wishing for a swift end to the war and a return to the Union as it once was.