First Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln, 4 March 1861
This inaugural address was spoken with true patriotism from Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was very much in favor of keeping the union of the states intact and allowing the citizens of the individual states to decide their rights regarding slavery. Although Lincolns personal and political views were against slavery and he was quoted as saying that “Slavery is wrong because a man has the right to the fruits of his own labor.” In this inaugural address Lincoln was speaking to the people to try and avoid a racial war. Lincoln spoke in this address of the need to hold up the constitution for its meaning and that it was not specific on details of slavery. When Lincoln stated “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so,” he was boldly telling the states that he had no real power to do anything about slavery. He goes on in this address to speak about how the military power was not going to invade any state to try and free slaves that this would not be in the benefit of the country and would not be a workable solution because it would only turn the people of our country against each other.
Lincoln is arguing for a calming of people to his election and to let them know that the constitution is an important thing to their freedoms and future. There is no real argument here and no real solutions given to the divided nation. What Lincoln is stating in this address does not really seem so much of an argument as it is a leader telling his people the importance of the constitution and the importance of keeping the country united. Lincolns address is logical although it seems to be written mainly for the people of the south to hear. The pathos (emotional quality) of this address seems like it is that of a father trying to sort out quarreling children by stating reason and asking for calmness and thought. The ethos (writers perceived character) is that of a leader.
I am not sure that this address could be called convincing because it just doesn’t seem like it offered any real solutions to the divided country at the time. The address just seemed to present his stance to both sides without really taking a side. Even though we know that he was against slavery there is nothing here in this address that really seems to say that.
Compared to other Presidential inaugural addresses this one is much wordier than our modern day Presidents but it is very similar in that it is just a President taking office and boldly stating what he will lead our country to do or not do, but no real course on how to get those things done.
good job. and i also agree with you that it was not really convincing due to the fact that Abraham Lincoln did not really offer any real solutions to the divided country at the time. and Lincoln directly states that he has neither the lawful right nor inclination to interfere with the institution of slavery (in states where it already exists). Lincoln’s opinions about slavery were well documented as he frequently made it a key point in his speeches. In an attempt to appease the South, Lincoln made it clear that he would not free the slaves in slave-owning states. However, on September 22, 1862, 18 months after entering office, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in any state of the Confederacy, that did not rejoin the Union by January 1, 1863 would become free. The Emancipation Proclamation made no claim on states that were currently in the Union. Instead of freeing slaves in states where Lincoln had power, he declared that they become free only in states that he did not have any power.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Lincoln was trying to keep the people united. It was beneficial for him to remain neutral for his initial address to people and this required him to not act against slavery at that time. For in order to make any major changes to a country, you must first have the respect of your people. Although Lincoln already had the support of the North he needed to gain the respect and support of the South, he strove to do so while reminding them of the constitution and the importance of staying united. He chose to stay away from controversial topics and chose rather to give a "feel good" speech that both the North and the South could relate to.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your post. I felt it was very organized and easy to follow. It also made some very good points which i completely agree with. I fully agree that during Lincoln's speech he was trying to keep the North and the South united. It seemed as though Lincoln would avoid topics or issues that the people didn't agree upon such as slavery. I absolutely agree with what you have said about how he is stating what he will and won't do as president without showing us any course on how he will do it. I feel that just like present day presidential candidates, he was merely telling the people what they wanted to hear, whether it be false or the truth. This is proven when he goes against what he said about not freeing the slaves in slave owning states. I don't believe that Lincoln's issues addressed were convincing and that right there is one reason why.
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