Lincolns Inaugurals, Addresses and Letters | Page 7

1859 Lincoln delivered his second and last long occasional
address--a discussion of agriculture at the Wisconsin State Fair at
Milwaukee. This is the only important non-political speech by Lincoln
that has been preserved and it is interesting as showing his ability to
treat a subject of general interest. Here, as in his discussions of political
questions, Lincoln displayed true statesmanlike insight and foresight,
long before the time when experiment stations and farmers' institutes
began to teach the very principles that he so wisely and effectively
expounded.
In 1860 Lincoln appeared for the first time before a New York
audience and we have his own word for it that he suffered a severe
attack of stage fright on that occasion. The event showed, however, that
he had no reason to fear the judgment of one of the most critical
audiences that ever assembled in the Cooper Union. The Hon. Joseph H.
Choate, who was present, writes of his appearance: "When he spoke he
was transformed, his eye kindled, his voice rang, his face shone and
seemed to light up the whole assembly. For an hour and a half he held
his audience in the hollow of his hand." This address may be regarded
as a precursor, and a worthy precursor, of the First Inaugural, and by
many competent critics it has been given the first place among the
discussions of the political situation just before the war. After such a
performance there could be no hesitation on the part of those that heard
it in acknowledging Abraham Lincoln as one of the most powerful
speakers of his day. Before returning to Illinois Lincoln travelled
through several of the New England States, making speeches in a
number of the larger towns.
The speeches delivered by Lincoln on the journey to Washington, in
1860, beginning with the exquisite Farewell Address at Springfield,
include some of the best of his shorter addresses. The most interesting
of these is the one delivered in Independence Hall.
The First Inaugural Address was not received at the time of its first

publication in the newspapers, even at the North, with the general
enthusiasm that we should now be inclined to assume; and in the South
it was severely criticised for its alleged lack of force and definiteness.
Its effect, however, upon the immense audience gathered in front of the
Capitol seems to have been immediate. The document had been written
with great care at Springfield, some changes being made after the
arrival at Washington. The most important of these were the
substitution for the original closing paragraph of the beautiful
peroration suggested by Secretary Seward. In beauty of language and
elevation of thought this first public utterance by President Lincoln
may be compared to the great political utterances of Burke.
First among the little classics of the world stands the Gettysburg
Address. At the time of its delivery it does not seem to have been
generally accepted as a notable utterance. By many of the newspaper
correspondents it was referred to as "remarks by the President," and
some of the papers contained no comment upon it. By others it was
dismissed with a few words of mild praise. Even after the death of
Lincoln there was no general agreement as to its supreme merits as a
part of our national literature. Conflicting stories still pass current in
books and articles on Lincoln about its composition, and original
reception. An examination of the testimony shows that the following
facts may be accepted as fairly proved. The greater part of the address
was written in Washington after very careful preparation, and profound
reflection. The address was read from MS., but with some variations
that apparently occurred to the speaker at the time of delivery. Mr.
Everett did not clasp the President's hand while he expressed a
willingness to exchange his hundred pages for the twenty lines just read.
It is uncertain whether Lincoln said at the time that the address did not
"scour," but if he did use such an expression it was not because of a
consciousness of having failed to make adequate preparation for the
occasion.
One of the best commentaries on the Second Inaugural Address
appeared in an article in the London Spectator: "We cannot read it
without a renewed conviction that it is the noblest political document
known to history, and should have for the nation and the statesmen he

left behind him something of a sacred and almost prophetic character."
Carl Schurz compared it to a sacred poem, and all discriminating
readers agree in placing it by the side of the Gettysburg Address as an
almost perfect specimen of pure English prose.
The other addresses of the presidential period are, with the exception of
the last speech, on the reconstruction of Louisiana, of minor importance.
They consist