Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), 16th President of the United States (1861-1865) and "Our Captain" in the Civil War

[The Hersch]

I mentioned in the "who ya drinkin' to" thread that I wanted to raise a glass to Abraham Lincoln on the 150th anniversary of his death, which is today. Which I have done, and which I do now: Here's to you, Mr. Lincoln. I also mentioned that Lincoln is the only U.S. president that I get emotional about. Which I do. He is the secular saint of our American history, the martyr who gave his life in service to the ideal of the American union and whose service ensured its survival. He is one of my very few heroes, maybe really my only one, besides Julia Child. Lincoln gave what I think was probably the greatest political speech ever given in English, on March 4, 1865, a few weeks before a traitor snuffed out his life and deprived us of the wisest soul we had to guide the nation through the aftermath of our greatest national trauma. Mr. Lincoln said this:

Fellow-Countrymen:

At this second appearing to take the oath of the Presidential office there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement somewhat in detail of a course to be pursued seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself, and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war"”seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.

One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union even by war, while the Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offenses; for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

[DonRocks]

"O Captain! My Captain!" (Walt Whitman, 1865)

O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

     But O heart! heart! heart!

        O the bleeding drops of red,

           Where on the deck my Captain lies,

              Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! My Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up"”for you the flag is flung"”for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths"”for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

     Here captain! dear father!

          This arm beneath your head;

               It is some dream that on the deck,

                    You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

     Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!

          But I, with mournful tread,

               Walk the deck my captain lies,

                    Fallen cold and dead.

[DaveO]

That speech, with the Civil War close to a conclusion, and Lincoln very aware of those conditions, as I assume the public was. per his comments, is a masterpiece. Thank you.

A deep discussion of the human condition and the incredible irony of two opposing sides, both calling on G-d, both calling for divine assistance in defeating the opposition.  My what an incredible description of thousands of years of human tendencies and of warfare,   He defined the war in very clear terms.  Historians should look back on that speech.

Finally with the end of the war near, he called for compassion.

A remarkable speech from a remarkable leader.

Thank you for referencing it.

[darkstar965]

Just a pause in our regular programming to make an observation.

What a quirky but wonderful website where one can immerse in debates about condiments, find the best burger and 5-star joints, learn from experts about composting and gardening and read about great composers, athletes and Abraham Lincoln.

It's a real Winchester Mystery House with multiple cellars, attics and additions.

[Al Dente]

[DonRocks]

I mentioned in the "who ya drinkin' to" thread that I wanted to raise a glass to Abraham Lincoln on the 150th anniversary of his death, which is today. Which I have done, and which I do now: Here's to you, Mr. Lincoln. I also mentioned that Lincoln is the only U.S. president that I get emotional about. Which I do. He is the secular saint of our American history, the martyr who gave his life in service to the ideal of the American union and whose service ensured its survival. He is one of my very few heroes, maybe really my only one, besides Julia Child. 

If I were you, I would make every effort I could to get to the National Gallery of Art sometime during the next ten days - there is a magnificent portrait of Abraham Lincoln on display that was painted in 1860, but it will only be there until May 3, 2015.

[The Hersch]

If I were you, I would make every effort I could to get to the National Gallery of Art sometime during the next ten days - there is a magnificent portrait of Abraham Lincoln on display that was painted in 1860, but it will only be there until May 3, 2015.

Lincoln told this anecdote of himself:

I met a woman riding horseback in the woods. As I stopped to let her pass, she also stopped, and, looking at me intently, said: "I do believe you are the ugliest man I ever saw." Said I, "Madam, you are probably right, but I can't help it!" "No," said she, "you can't help it, but you might stay at home!"