President Lincoln’s Speeches & Proclamations
Before he was president, Abraham Lincoln had made a name for himself as a gifted writer, speaker, and thinker. His eloquent arguments in debates with Stephen Douglas during their 1858 Senate campaigns brought him national attention.
National prominence helped make Lincoln the Republican nominee for president and he subsequently won the 1860 presidential election. The Civil War began soon after.
In September 1862, Lincoln issued the most famous executive order in American history, the Emancipation Proclamation. The document allowed for emancipation, or the freeing of those enslaved in the rebelling states as of January 1, 1863.
While these states weren’t about to follow Lincoln’s order, in doing so, Lincoln lessened the chances France and England would recognize the Confederacy. This also helped establish a moral cause for the war: ending slavery in America.
However, it would be two years later, on June 19, 1865 (also known as Juneteenth) that the last men, women, and children still held in slavery in the United States would be freed.
Months later, on November 19, 1863, President Lincoln gave one of the most famous speeches in American history.
Lincoln was speaking at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This cemetery paid homage to the fallen soldiers who had lost their lives at the Battle of Gettysburg four months earlier.
Though the speech itself was quite short (just 271 total words), it is nevertheless powerful, and today it is remembered as the Gettysburg Address.
The speech famously began, "Four score and seven years ago..." referring to America's Declaration of Independence.
It then went on to describe how the Civil War was being fought to preserve the ideals of the Declaration that "all men are created equal."
After four years of strife and success, Lincoln was elected to a second term as president, prompting his 2nd Inaugural Address. Given on March 4, 1865, this speech came just one month before the end of the Civil War, and only weeks before his tragic assassination on April 15th.
During his 2nd Inaugural Address, Lincoln spoke of the urgent need to heal the nation’s wounds and to take care of one another in order to preserve a lasting peace throughout the country.
Lincoln stressed that, despite four years of conflict, neither side should have harsh feelings towards the other, famously saying, "...with malice toward none, with charity for all..."
In the speech, Lincoln previewed his plans for Reconstruction and healing the divided nation. Unfortunately, his assassination cut these plans tragically short.