The immortal words that Lincoln uttered as part of his Second Inaugural are worthy of notice, for in their sympathy, tenderness, and beautiful simplicity they reveal the heart of him who spoke them. This inaugural address was delivered in Washington on March 4, 1865, only about six weeks before Lincoln's assassination. It closed with these words:
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
REVIEW OUTLINE
The Mexican war.
Conflict over the extension of slavery.
Abraham Lincoln in his Kentucky home.
The Lincoln family moves to Indiana.
The furniture and the food of the backwoods people.
Little Abe's busy life.
His personal appearance.
Backwoods makeshifts.
His school life; his reading habits.
Abraham Lincoln as a boatman.
"Honest Abe."
His physical strength.
His kindness and sympathy.
He is elected to the state legislature.
The great debate with Stephen A. Douglas.
Abraham Lincoln as president.
He issues the emancipation proclamation.
His assassination.
TO THE PUPIL
1. Explain the conflict between the North and the South over the extension of slavery.
2. Form mental pictures of the following: the "camp"; the furniture and the food of the backwoods people; and Abraham Lincoln's personal appearance.
3. What were his reading habits?
4. Imagine yourself with Lincoln when he saw the slave auction in New Orleans, and tell what you see.