Collections grade 11 guiding questions collection 4 “second inaugural address” by abraham lincoln read the speech “second inaugural address” by abraham lincoln. then, reread the lines indicated with each question below. answer each question, citing text evidence. if evidence is not provided, your answer is incorrect. 1. lines 3–11: where in the speech does lincoln address his audience’s expectations? 2. lines 29–34: explain the premise that lincoln is developing in the second paragraph. identify specific points that develop the premise. 3. lines 55–60: restate lincoln’s call to action in your own words. what is the purpose of the speech?

Answer 1:

Lincoln addresses his audience's expectations in these lines of his speech:

"...These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war."

In the above quote, Lincoln is addressing his audience's expectations by explaining how the use of slaves and slave ownership caused surprisingly heated conflict, which eventually led to the Civil war between the northern and southern parts US. Specifically, Lincoln points out that the demand for slaves and slave ownership in the northern states caused conflicts to escalate farther than expected, which led to war.  

Answer 2:

In the second paragraph of his second inaugural address, Lincoln's main premise is that that despite efforts to avoid war and conflict, the opposition was not willing to resolve conflicts in a peaceful manner. Instead, the opposition pushed their own agendas, negotiated, and disagreed to form a peaceful resolution, which eventually led to the Civil War and created more of a divide between the north and south of the nation.

The following lines from Lincoln's speech explain his premise:

" While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war--seeking to dissolve the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came"

Answer 3

Lincoln's call to action in his address is demonstrated in these lines:

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow,and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations".

By the above, Lincoln states that his mission after being reelected for President is to restore peace and healing within the US after the Civil war. The main purpose of Lincoln's speech is to make sure than slavery does not spread to the north since the issue of owning slaves itself started the civil war in the first place. He hopes to rebuild the US by restoring peace within the United States as well as between the US and other nations.

                            the economy of northern and sothern states could be considered the source of some of the biggest differences between the two sides. in the north, there were lots of small farmers, but the north was also becoming more and more industrialized. taking a look back at the 1800’s we start to see factory’s manufacturing many things that previously had been unavailable, and many employed individuals working hard to create products to fit the growing demand in the nation. on the other half of america, the southerners were much more set on farming as the soul income. plantations were starting to grow across this land, perfect for growing all kinds of things. in particular, the southern economy was mostly rooted on cotton. by the mid 1800’s somewhere around 5 million bales of cotton were being produced each year. to take advantage of such a great cash crop, wealthy individuals were setting up large farms and working the land to the max. it was hard to find people willing to work as hard as southern plantation owners wanted, and once they started forcing slaves to do the labor for them, slavery became a prominent part of the south’s economy. in the 1800’s, almost one third of southern population was forced to working the fields each day, without pay, and without proper nourishment. almost one third of the southern population lived with the whip lashing at their backs, and chains around their necks, as their separated from their families. almost one third of the southern population was slaves. southern plantations were filled with terror. on the other hand, northern states didn’t base their economy on slavery. this doesn’t mean work was fun, or the wages were excellent for the northern citizens, but the factory workers at least had freedom, unlike the slaves of the south.