Abraham Lincoln: First Inaugural Address

Impact

Lincoln hoped that his address would strengthen the southern unionists. But his assertion of federal authority only angered many southerners and did nothing to hinder the drive toward secession. Although Lincoln had heeded advice to end his speech on an affectionate note, his words were quickly rejected, and by March 15, 1861, rebel batteries surrounded Fort Sumter, still flying a Union flag.

Some northern opposition newspapers (those supporting the Democratic Party) treated Lincoln's first inaugural respectfully, while others found him bellicose. The favorable notices mentioned his friendly tone and that he specifically disavowed any effort to coerce the southern states. Not surprisingly members of Lincoln's own party praised his firm but pacific purpose.

Predictably, southern newspapers, especially in the Lower South, where certain states had already seceded, resented Lincoln's effort to portray them as the aggressors. In the end, it was clear to them that Lincoln was offering no concessions. The Charleston Mercury called the inaugural the “tocsin of battle,” and the Richmond Dispatch announced that the address “inaugurates civil war” (Donald, p. 284).

If the immediate impact of Lincoln's address could not retard, let alone stop, the drive toward secession, his closing words have continued to reverberate in a reunified nation, especially his notion of “mystic chords of memory,” an invocation of a people's memory of their own struggles for freedom and that the very idea of the Union is an ennobling inspiration.