The best writing I’ve ever done was a line by line exegesis of the second inaugural. A beautiful, courageous speech. Incredible to imagine a leader in wartime who could stand in front of his country and say, “we deserve to die for the crimes we have allowed.”
Yet he had no difficulty with stealing the land of Indigenous people, killing them, or dehumanizing them in order to secure his vision of a unified and industrialized United States. He understood slavery was wrong, but he didn’t ensure equitable rights or safety for Black or Indigenous people.
He was certainly eloquent, and intelligent, but he was also fundamentally a politician at heart, one who was keenly aware of the necessity of balancing his public persona as a man of compassion and humanitarian instincts with safeguarding the power structures that favoured white voters,
… and insured the financial security of the industrialized northern states, and does the political success of his vision, priorities, and party — even when it meant that his lofty ideals were inconsistently applied, or even ignored.
While he certainly moved progress along, from outside of the USA, maybe it’s easier to see him as a complex individual with goals and statements that sometimes coexisted in a dialectic, a man who made choices that were not always heroic, ideal, or aligned with his stated values.
There’s no doubt that he was not alone in this, nor that he implemented effective changes - even if those changes were not always quite as rooted in empathy as he wanted some voters to believe. The remains, however, a persistent danger in our human tendency to categorically idealize or vilify.
Yeah, Foner's excellent "The Fiery Trial" goes into the growth of Lincoln's antislavery beliefs showing Lincoln is not this 'Great Emancipator'. However, there was only a few pages at most, about Lincoln's racism/cruelty to Indians. And Foner can only say that it's typical of 19th C. presidents.
is this exegesis available to read?
It’s kind of you to ask! It’s only available in a format that has my irl name attached, so I can’t share it here. If I’d know this post was going to get any attention I wouldn’t have mentioned it!
Alas!
still, mazel tov
No worries. If you ever decide to share, you're welcome to tag me in.
What a stunning example of leadership in the face of adversity. That line, in particular, is a gut-check for any nation – and a reminder that true courage often lies in confronting the darkest aspects of ourselves.
a high school teacher of mine called it "the Gettysburg Address of speeches"
Man, I wish my teachers were that cool. I’d be a better poster today.
“…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…” Powerful Lincoln is powerful.
(incredible handle, btw)
Where can I find this exegesis?
Can't believe Martin Guerre said this. Ms. Davis made him sound like kind of a crabby oaf.
I heard a memorable sermon by Dr. Phillip G. Murray of Community Church, Congregational in Corona del Mar, California with "With charity for all, with malice toward none" as his text. It was in the midst of the turmoil of 1968 and left a lasting memory. My non-observant parents admired him very much
Is it available to read somewhere?
You’re kind to ask. Unfortunately it’s got my irl name attached to it so I can’t point you toward it.
are there other explainers on the speech you'd recommend?
Ah okay, fair enough
It’s so disappointing that “with malice toward none and charity toward all” gets stripped out of that speech and paraded around decontextualized. (Although hardly unique, you could say the same about “content of their character” or 100 different passages from the Gospels)