Abraham

1861 · 377680 — Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office 1861. Special Session Senate Ex. Doc. No. 1. 10pp. 8vo. Disbound. Housed in a cloth box. Special Session Senate Ex. Doc. No. 1. 10pp. 8vo. Lincoln began drafting his first inaugural in Springfield soon after his election hoping the speech would impart a spirit of reconciliation toward the seceded states. His speech balances his pledge to protect Federal property in the south while insisting that he would not use military force unless attacked first. In all he eloquently argues against secession presenting the United States as undissolvable. Lincoln ends his speech with the memorable lines: "We are not enemies but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory stretching from every battle-field and patriot grave to every living heart and hearth-stone all over this broad land will yet swell the chorus of the Union when again touched as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature."<br /> <br /> "Lincoln became President on March 4 1861. Before being sworn in he gave his First Inaugural Address devoting it entirely to the secession crisis. It was the linguistic equivalent of an optical illusion: one could view it two ways. As historians have noted he seemed to placate the South; he would not 'interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists.' This language was the old Lincoln . The new Lincoln was a resolute executive who had no choice but to enforce the Constitution a contract that does not allow states to withdraw from it unilaterally. In his enforcement there would be no bloodshed 'unless it be forced upon the national authority" Mazy Boroujerdi editor Abraham Lincoln: His Life in Print p. 108.<br /> <br /> Lincoln had begun writing his inaugural the month prior before leaving Springfield and once in Washington asked William Seward to review the draft. It was Seward who suggested softening the tone so as not to appear too inflammatory suggesting "a nostalgic call for unity emphasizing the country's shared history. Lincoln embraced the idea but massaged it into near poetry. Seward's prosaic text ended up as Lincoln's oft quoted appeals to the 'mystic chords of memory' and 'the better angels of our nature.' The words did nothing to reverse disunion" Ibid. p. 97.<br /> <br /> This is the official government printing of Lincoln's first inaugural address issued as a document of a special session of the Senate printed by their order four days after its delivery being only the second printing overall of the memorable speech. Monaghan 102; Abraham Lincoln: His Life in Print p. 108 [Government Printing Office] unknown