Lincoln Lincoln's 1862 State of the Union address

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As I was reading through my "this day in history" email this morning, I realized that on this day Abraham Lincoln delivered his 1862 State of the Union address. I was pleased to find (thanks to Google) that his 1862 speech is regarded as one of the best State of the Union speeches given in history. Real Clear Politics even had the top ten rated and it came in at number one.

Here is a link to the text of the speech. Of course based on the date and then actually reading it, the speech was given not long after the Emancipation Proclamation was announced but I always think of the State of the Union as the "how are things going?" speech...this is what I envisioned Lincoln wanting to say in his 1862 address, I'll begin with his actual opening in italics, and will close with his words as well:

"Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:

Since your last annual assembling another year of health and bountiful harvests has passed, and while it has not pleased the Almighty to bless us with a return of peace, we can but press on, guided by the best light He gives us, trusting that in His own good time and wise way all will yet be well.

That being said...how exactly do you think things are going? We have announced the Emancipation Proclamation and even people in the Union are upset. I fired my commanding general for the second time less than a month ago after we 'didn't lose but failed to win' at Antietam. Since last December 1st, we've seen horrific casualties at the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Second Bull Run (after which I again had to fire a commanding general in John Pope), Antietam, Gaines' Mill, Malvern Hill, and dozens of battles in between each of those.

I have appointed a new commanding general, Ambrose Burnside, to lead our fall offensive. You may remember General Burnside from the battle of Antietam and Burnside's Bridge where former commanding general McClellan hung him out to dry by not sending adequate reinforcements...but that is another story for another day. I have great confidence in General Burnside and the coming campaign as they move via Falmouth into Virginia in the vicinity of Fredericksburg.

To summarize, the state of our Union is terrible. We're still engaged in civil war, members of Congress hate me, we can't find a general to lead our Army of the Potomac for any length of time, the South is ticked about my announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, and now I've heard that George McClellan would like to run against me for the office of the President in the next election...not really sure how things could get much worse.

Just being honest. If you didn't want the truth, you shouldn't have dubbed me 'Honest Abe.'

Fellow-citizens, we can not escape history. We of this Congress and this Administration will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free--honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth. Other means may succeed; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just--a way which if followed the world will forever applaud and God must forever bless.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN"


Obviously my writing is tongue in cheek but that is how I envision him wanting to write his speech before actually delivering the one he did. Anyway, have fun with it!
 
Cute, but I think it could be a bit more cheerful:

The fierce battle at Fort Donelson resulted in the capture of a complete rebel army and enabled us to restore federal authority in most of Tennessee. At Shiloh, we repulsed the rebels' best effort to halt our advance, which has continued, with recent victories at Corinth and Iuka, Mississippi. Speaking of Mississippi, our advance both up and down the river continues, with the capture of another rebel garrison at Island Number Ten and the destruction of their river flotilla at Memphis. Our Navy gallantly captured New Orleans, the largest city and largest port in the South, and we are well on our way to securing the entire length of the Mississippi River.

Our Army and Navy working together have secured key positions along the southern coast and established a blockade which has cut imports and exports to the rebellious regions by nine-tenths. At no point have the rebels recovered territory once secured by federal forces.

This said, it must be acknowledged that we face an ongoing stalemate in the theater closest to where we sit tonight. While we have secured significant portions of northern and eastern Virginia, we have not been able to achieve the sort of victories in the field that have characterized our operations elsewhere. On the other hand, we have repulsed the one effort of the rebels to extend their rebellion, in the great battle of Antietam, the greatest yet fought on this continent.....
 
I like that!

My version of pessimism is born from my own personality :wink: I'm sure he was much more optimistic than I tend to be.
 
Interesting speculation, but, not, IMO, very accurate. The war, and its issues, were much too important, to him, to be tongue in cheek, in any case.

If one studies the writings of Lincoln, from his earliest days, concerning the United States of America, its history and institutions, you find he had a grand vision of what the United States was all about.

One should read his views on the Declaration of Independence and what he thought it meant. In his Peoria Speech(I believe) in his debates with Douglas, he explains why he hated slavery in terms of how it vitiated the vision and promise contained in the DoI, and the special place the Constitutional gov't of the Union, should hold in the world.




P.S. It is well to remember that Emancipation stemmed from Lincoln's personal conviction that the War he believed had to be won, for the benefit of future generations of, not only the United States, but, the whole world, could not be won, without it(emancipation).
 
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