The election of Abraham Lincoln as United States president was an important historical event, which signified a devotion of the national power to the unity of the country. For that matter, the ideas explaining his decision-making as a president are necessary to examine. The document selected for analysis in this essay is Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, which was written and publicly presented in March 1861. The source was produced by President Abraham Lincoln as a speech delivered to the general public on his inaugural day to present the direction of his policy in the office. Thus, the author of the document has a direct relation to the event of his inauguration and further execution of the responsibilities of the President of the United States, which are addressed in the speech.
The author’s credibility of the analyzed document is justified by his status and position. As US president, Lincoln’s stance on national politics demonstrates the upcoming changes in the inseparability of the Union and the role of slavery in the rivalry between the South and the North. When considering possible biases affecting the document, one might address Lincoln’s intentions of preserving the Union’s wholeness and instilling the South’s awareness of the risks of the Constitution’s violation. Given these intentions, his articulation of the ideas in the speech might be considered biased.
The document contains multiple pivotal points about the power execution of the newly elected President and his intentions concerning the decision-making on states’ matters. In particular, Lincoln emphasized the preservation of slavery in the Southern states. In the context of growing political and social unrest manifested via abolitionist activities, the speech of the newly elected President was persuasive. The President assured that he had “no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists” (Lincoln 1861, 5). The second pivotal piece of information included in the speech was the declaration of the President to ensure that the Union was unbroken. Lincoln stated, “to the extent of my ability I shall take care, as the Constitution itself expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the States” (Lincoln 1861, 9). With these words, the President emphasized that he considered the intention of the Southern states to separate as unlawful. Finally, the third important point was Lincoln’s emphasis on compromising the interests of the South and the North to avoid continuous conflicts and the Union’s breaking.
The reason why this document was created reached beyond the mere requirement of addressing the public on an inaugural day. Indeed, the historical context of the document demonstrates that it was needed to explain the new Presidential administration’s political direction. In particular, it demonstrated that Lincoln was devoted to preserving the Union with the inclusion of the Southern states via compromising but without allowing any violation of the Constitution.
In conclusion, the analysis of Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address of 1861 has demonstrated that the document was created to present the political intentions of the newly elected President to the public. Moreover, at the time the speech was delivered, the country was on the verge of a civil war due to the abolitionist movement and the pro-slavery politics in the Southern states. Thus, the relevance of the documents is justified by Lincoln’s intentions to preserve the Union unbreakable.
References
Lincoln, Abraham. 1861. “Abraham Lincoln papers.” Library of Congress. Web.