LAD #19: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

     Lincoln begins by saying that he has much less to say than was said four years ago.  He then mentions that at the time of his first inaugural address, the south was making plans to secede from the union, thus giving the nation no chance of survival.  Their secession led to the civil war which the Union was dragged into in hopes of restoring the nation that had existed since even before the creation of the constitution. Later on, he states that slaves constitute 1/8 of the population, the majority of that portion residing in the south.  They express interest in freedom, but for the moment, the Union seeks only to contain them. Lincoln claims that no party predicted that the war would be as devastating and hard-fought as it was.  Religion is then incorporated into this famed speech as Lincoln states that although both sides wish for the war to end, that blessing is something that relies on God's will.  He ends by saying that the nation must finish the work that it has begun and "create a lasting peace."