LAD/Blog #15: Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Lincoln starts by saying that he will not address topics that have already reached an understanding. He then tells Southern states that they have nothing to fear from his Republican administration and that he has no interest in messing with their peace or security. He also states that he has no intention of interfering with slavery. He then talks about how he intends to uphold the Constitution in all states. He says that he does not intend to use force on the South, but he would if it meant protecting the federal government that he had promised to uphold. He says that the Constitution goes on forever. He states that the Constitution is more than a small contract and that it couldn't be rescinded legally without an agreement between all of the states. Lincoln also states that he did not oppose the Corwin Amendment, which protected slavery in states that it already existed but allowed for each state to reject or accept it. Lincoln said that he would be willing to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act so long as it was not misused as the Constitution did not explicitly say what was allowed or not on the issue of slavery in any states. Lincoln promised not to use the spoils system and would omit the positions in the South that were normally held by Northern officials. Lincoln ended the speech by pleading with the people to not ignore rational thought as tensions rose.He says he wouldn't start conflict with the states, specifically the rebellious ones.



Tensions grew throughout the U.S. during the Vietnam War, when young adults were protesting the U.S.'s involvement, in a similar way as they did leading up to the Civil War because neither group was willing to listen to what the other one had to say.

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