Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Lincoln’s Leadership Abraham Lincoln was president all during the Civil War. He was president when the Civil War started and ended. Lincoln gave his First Inaugural Address on Monday, March 4, 1861, not knowing that a month later there would be a Civil War in his country. The next speech he gave was the Gettysburg Address which was given on November 19, 1863, which he gave the speech to “honor” those who had died in that battle, although it was months later since so many people had died, the people of Gettysburg had to bury all of the soldiers before Lincoln could come to honor them. The speech was a short one but it got his point across. His third speech which was his Second Inaugural Address, was given on Saturday, March 4, 1865 and at this …show more content…
“In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none unless it be forced upon the national authority” (Lincoln, First). Lincoln shows leadership in this quote by saying that there will be no war or battles unless the authority (the government) does so themselves. He is taking leadership by pretty much saying that he does not want any kind of battle either. “Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself ceased” (Lincoln, Second). Lincoln states that neither side expected the war exactly like it was. He was not blaming either side for the cause of the war. Although these speeches show his leadership qualities, the Gettysburg Address still shows his qualities the best. “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here” (Lincoln, Gettysburg). Lincoln states that the people who are left have to remember what the soldiers did here and that whatever he says at the moment will not be remembered like the soldiers would be. The Gettysburg Address was by far Lincoln’s best