“You seem to be in good humor after the proceedings of the day…. I shall rejoice if what I have said may cause the friends of the Union South to feel good when they hear it. I made it as near right as I could, in my poor humble judgment, and in accordance with the principles of the Constitution and the perpetuity of freedom.” That’s how Abraham Lincoln addressed a group of well-wishers from New York who came to see him on the evening of March 4, 1861. Earlier that day, Lincoln had delivered his inaugural address to a massive crowd gathered at the U.S. Capitol before being sworn in as the country’s sixteenth president.
In the months between Lincoln’s election and his inauguration, tensions between the North and South had ratcheted up at an alarming pace. Seven southern states had seceded from the Union, convinced that the administration of the incoming “Black Republican” Lincoln would pose a dire threat to their liberties. In the North, many looked on with alarm as federal properties throughout the Deep South were seized by secessionist forces and others, including Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor, faced the imminent threat of forced takeover. By the day of Lincoln’s inauguration, the country was on the verge of civil war.
In this issue’s cover story, “‘We Must Not Be Enemies’” (page 26), Glenn LaFantasie takes a detailed look at how Lincoln’s inauguration day unfolded, with a focus on the importance, substance, and tone of Lincoln’s speech and how citizens—northern and southern, black and white—reacted to it. Contrary to the optimism he expressed to the group of visiting New Yorkers, Lincoln would soon learn that not nearly all Americans had been heartened by his inaugural address.
Want to share your thoughts on this or other articles in the issue? Send your emails to [email protected].
