LAD #19: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

In Lincoln's second inaugural address, he stated that his address would be short because most people were aware of what was going on with the state of the Union, unlike the time of his first address. At that time, southerners were determined to separate from the Union and form their own nation. Lincoln expressed his belief that neither party was interested in war, but the South was prepared to fight, and the North was willing to fight if it meant that it would prevent the nation from collapsing. Lincoln went on to point out slavery as one of the main causes of the war and then began to speak from a religious standpoint when he expressed the differing interests of the North and the South. He claimed that whatever God wanted was going to happen throughout the war, and that the side that God prefers will be the side to win. He ended the speech by expressing his desire for the nation to achieve long lasting peace.