LAD #14: Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

In this address, President Lincoln starts by talking about the south and the slaves within the south. He talks about how slave owners may feel threatened by having a republican president and how they may feel that their rights and his party will take over instead of what they want. But he says that he is not going to change the current state of slaves and that if a slave runs away into free territory, they are still a slave and must be returned to the owner of him. He says this since he believes in the constitution and since this is stated in it, that he will protect this. The next topic he talks about is how the union has been faced with the threat of breaking apart and the threat is worse than ever. He says that this is threatening the destory the union and this must not happen. Lincoln believes that since the union was created first, it is more important than the constitution and if there is an arguement threatening to break apart the union due to the consitution, than it must not be able to happen. Also that the union may not be destroyed only by the wishes of a group of states rather than majority. And that if this governement is hurting states and they want it changed, the only way to do this is through the amendment process. He ends by putting the future of the south with them since he says that he will only attack if they do first.