Of Justice and Mercy in Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13044320 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lucas E Morel (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 455-466 |
| Publication date | 2015-06-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Political Thought (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2161-1580 • E-ISSN: 2161-1599 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/682043 |
| OpenAlex | W2295984336 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 7 |
This essay interprets Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address as an effort by the reelected president (and victorious commander in chief) to produce a common memory of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery as a means of reuniting the country. It argues that Lincoln did not believe the opposing sides could think and act as Americans after the war unless they moved from war to peace with a shared understanding of why the war and emancipation happened. He supposed that God used “this mighty scourge of war” to punish both North and South for the sin of slavery—a punishment that, in light of how long slavery had existed in America, would actually constitute a divine mercy. Only a common acceptance of mutual responsibility for what he called “American slavery” would enable former combatants to extend “charity for all” and “malice toward none” and thereby pave the way to successful Reconstruction
Economic Justice · Emancipation · Malice · Political science · Politics · Punishment (psychology · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Academic Freedom and Politics · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Psychology · Race, History, and American Society
| Citations per year | 0.29 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2023 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |