Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address: Speech by George D. Gopen

Historical Moment

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address was delivered on March 4, 1865, as the American Civil War was nearing its end. This speech came four years after his first inaugural address, which aimed to prevent war. By 1865, the Confederacy was close to defeat. Lincoln’s remarks were brief yet powerful, reflecting on the war’s causes and preparing the nation for reconciliation. He emphasized healing the country’s deep wounds and promised care for veterans and their families.

Moral and Religious Framework

The speech is notable for its strong moral and theological tones. Lincoln uniquely framed the Civil War as divine punishment for the national sin of slavery, stating that both sides had shared blame. He used Biblical references extensively, quoting scripture and invoking God 14 times to explore the war's meaning and justify the collective suffering. This spiritual dimension expressed Lincoln’s struggle to understand the devastation as part of God’s will, while promoting forgiveness and humility: “With malice toward none; with charity for all,” calling for unity and peace.

Political and Social Context

Delivered amid a fractured nation, the address confronted the reality of slavery as the conflict's root cause, a shift from Lincoln’s cautious tone in 1861. By 1865, the war had claimed over 600,000 lives. Lincoln avoided triumphalism and instead urged reconciliation and careful rebuilding, recognizing the hardships the South faced postwar but insisting on justice. His speech sought to bind the nation’s wounds and prepare Americans for Reconstruction, advocating a policy rooted in justice and charity rather than vengeance. This address has since been inscribed in the Lincoln Memorial as a key symbol of American healing.

Key themes

• The war is divine punishment for slavery, implicating the entire nation.
• Both North and South share guilt for the sin of slavery.
• Lincoln calls for healing "with malice toward none, with charity for all."
• The speech emphasizes reconciliation and binding the nation’s wounds.
• Biblical and theological language frames the war’s meaning and moral lessons.
• The future peace depends on how the defeated are treated.

Motifs & problems

Lincoln repeatedly invokes biblical imagery and theological language, citing Scripture to frame the Civil War as God's judgment on the nation’s collective sin of slavery. Key symbols include divine punishment, prayer, and references to both the Old and New Testament, highlighting a moral and spiritual reckoning. This creates a complex interpretive crux: both sides appeal to God but neither has their prayers fully answered, underscoring the ambiguous and somber role of divine will in human conflict and national healing.

Study questions

• How does Lincoln use biblical references to explain the cause of the Civil War?
• In what ways does Lincoln assign responsibility for slavery to both North and South?
• What does Lincoln mean by "malice toward none" and "charity for all"?
• How does the speech propose the nation should treat the defeated after the war?
• What role does theology play in Lincoln’s vision for national reconciliation?
• Why is the invocation of God important to understanding the speech’s message?
• How does the speech reflect a shift from conflict toward healing?
• What might Lincoln be suggesting about judgment and forgiveness at the national level?

Critical approaches & debates

Scholars analyze Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address through diverse lenses including theological, formalist, and historical perspectives. Theological readings emphasize Lincoln’s use of Biblical language and divine judgment to interpret the Civil War as a collective moral reckoning on slavery, reflecting an evangelical worldview that both North and South were complicit. Formalist critics highlight the speech’s rhetorical restraint, brevity, and use of anaphora (“with malice toward none; with charity for all”) to unify and heal. Debates focus on whether Lincoln’s approach constitutes a call for reconciliation or a subtle moral indictment, with some disputing how much emphasis is placed on divine punishment versus human agency.

Key passages

The phrase “with malice toward none; with charity for all” is a pivotal turning point, using anaphora to embody the speech’s reconciliatory ethos. Its direct appeal for healing not revenge articulates a moral vision foundational to post-war reconstruction. Additionally, Lincoln’s invocation of biblical texts (e.g., Matthew 7:1, Genesis 3:19) underscores the shared divine judgment theme, challenging both sides to humility and introspection.

Bibliography

Lincoln, Abraham. The Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865. In Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Roy P. Basler, vol. 8, 1953. Key primary texts include Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address (1861) and the Gettysburg Address (1863). Recent scholarship: David M. White’s religious-historical analysis (2005), and contemporary critiques examining theological and rhetorical dimensions in the context of Civil War memory.