Introduction
On March 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln gave his Second Inaugural Address. This speech outlined the most important pieces of post-war inevitabilities that Lincoln could conceive. Firmly based upon his political and personal beliefs, Lincoln argued for the freedom of the slaves and the peaceful reuniting of the seceded states. However, this speech also encompassed some of his final views surrounding slavery and reunion—he would be assassinated a mere month later. Thus the question arises: How did Lincoln’s views within the Second Inaugural address affect reconstruction following the American Civil War and America’s changing views towards African-Americans?
Within the 250 years of American History, no era remains as unarchived as the reconstruction …show more content…
In his early childhood, the family was forced to move several times due to land disputes surrounding the farms that he worked on. Until he was 21, Lincoln worked on the farm with his family. When he was 21, his family embarked on a move to Illinois, after which he set out on his own. After several odd jobs, Lincoln became a lawyer and opened his …show more content…
Lincoln bases his argument of the “all men are created equal” clause within the constitution, yet his first idea is to “free all the slaves, and send them to Liberia, ---to their own native land.” The vast majority of slaves were “American” and still Lincoln could not imagine them as his equals. Lincoln even considers the abolitionist view—to “free them and make them politically and socially our equals? My own feelings will not admit of this…we cannot, then, make them equals.” His argument, based on all men being created equal, completely contradicts his own feelings that slaves could never be the white man’s equals. Lincoln displays that he believes strongly in the freedom of the slaves from their hellish existence, but not to the level at which they may threaten the white man’s
On March 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln gave his Second Inaugural Address. This speech outlined the most important pieces of post-war inevitabilities that Lincoln could conceive. Firmly based upon his political and personal beliefs, Lincoln argued for the freedom of the slaves and the peaceful reuniting of the seceded states. However, this speech also encompassed some of his final views surrounding slavery and reunion—he would be assassinated a mere month later. Thus the question arises: How did Lincoln’s views within the Second Inaugural address affect reconstruction following the American Civil War and America’s changing views towards African-Americans?
Within the 250 years of American History, no era remains as unarchived as the reconstruction …show more content…
In his early childhood, the family was forced to move several times due to land disputes surrounding the farms that he worked on. Until he was 21, Lincoln worked on the farm with his family. When he was 21, his family embarked on a move to Illinois, after which he set out on his own. After several odd jobs, Lincoln became a lawyer and opened his …show more content…
Lincoln bases his argument of the “all men are created equal” clause within the constitution, yet his first idea is to “free all the slaves, and send them to Liberia, ---to their own native land.” The vast majority of slaves were “American” and still Lincoln could not imagine them as his equals. Lincoln even considers the abolitionist view—to “free them and make them politically and socially our equals? My own feelings will not admit of this…we cannot, then, make them equals.” His argument, based on all men being created equal, completely contradicts his own feelings that slaves could never be the white man’s equals. Lincoln displays that he believes strongly in the freedom of the slaves from their hellish existence, but not to the level at which they may threaten the white man’s