Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

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by Abraham Lincoln · 1865

Delivered on March 4, 1865, during the final weeks of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address addressed the national trauma of the war and sought to initiate a process of national reconciliation and reconstruction. Rather than celebrating victory, Lincoln spoke with profound sadness, famously calling for 'malice toward none' and 'charity for all' to bind up the nation's wounds.