Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural

Ronald C. White Jr.

Simon & Schuster, Nov 7, 2006 - History - 256 pages

As the day for Lincoln's second inauguration drew near, Americans wondered what their sixteenth president would say about the Civil War. Would Lincoln guide the nation toward "Reconstruction"? What about the slaves? They had been emancipated, but what about the matter of suffrage? When Lincoln finally stood before his fellow countrymen on March 4, 1865, and had only 703 words to share, the American public was stunned. The President had not offered the North a victory speech, nor did he excoriate the South for the sin of slavery. Instead, he called the whole country guilty of the sin and pleaded for reconciliation and unity.

In this compelling account, noted historian Ronald C. White Jr. shows how Lincoln's speech was initially greeted with confusion and hostility by many in the Union; commended by the legions of African Americans in attendance, abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass among them; and ultimately appropriated by his assassin John Wilkes Booth forty-one days later.

Filled with all the facts and factors surrounding the Second Inaugural, Lincoln's Greatest Speech is both an important historical document and a thoughtful analysis of Lincoln's moral and rhetorical genius.

What people are saying

Review: Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural

User Review  - Rick - Goodreads

In short, this is awesome history! Totally gripping--I zipped through it once I started it. Masterfully researched and woven together and establishes why this, and not the Gettysburg Address, is his ...

Review: Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural

User Review  - Ivan - Goodreads

Before reading this book, I didn't know much about Lincoln's Second Inaugural. If you didn't know, it was delivered at the closing of the Civil War, forty-two days before his assassination by John ...

About the author

Ronald C. White Jr. is professor of American Intellectual and Religious History at San Francisco Theological Seminary, as well as the author and editor of five books. He lives in La Cañada, California.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural; Simon & Schuster Lincoln library
• Author: Ronald C. White Jr.
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2006
• ISBN: 0743299620, 9780743299626
• Length: 256 pages
• Subjects: History / General; History / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877); History / United States / General; Language Arts & Disciplines / Rhetoric