Abraham Lincoln: First Inaugural Address

( 1861 ) Commentary by Carl Rollyson, Baruch College, The City University of New York

Questions for Further Study

1. Analyze Lincoln's First Inaugural Address in the context of the events leading up to the Civil War.
2. Compare Lincoln's First Inaugural Address and Second Inaugural Address. How did the Civil War change his attitude toward slavery and his conception of the Union?
3. Discuss Lincoln's interpretation of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution in his First Inaugural Address.
4. Explain why Lincoln's assurances to the South did not allay southern anxieties and why his policies could not prevent the coming of a Civil War.

The final printed version of Lincoln's first inaugural address is shown here with an earlier draft by him (Library of Congress)

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