Saturday, March 4th, 1865
Abraham Lincoln found little reason for a drawn out presidential address to lead into his second term, and now the country's focus has settled more so on the internal conflicts it was faced with. Despite this, Lincoln began his second term as president with hope for a better future. He referenced the civil war that had been looming, and mentioned those who had attempted to disrupt the Union and divide the country without bloodshed. Lincoln felt that these men would already accept the idea of war, which inevitably came.
No one had expected the war to last as long as it did or take such a toll, just as neither of the regions in the country thought that the cause for the war would end before the conflict did. Lincoln pointed out the similarities between the men who opposed slavery and those who supported it in his Second Inaugural Address, pointing out that they both worship the same God, and have asked Him for aid in their disputes amongst themselves. Was it God's will that their country remained locked in a civil war fought between its own people?
Lincoln declared that their God was giving them the ability to end their violence and right their wrongs, and to "cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. "
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