Flashback: Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

Flashback: Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

Few Americans would doubt that Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address -- delivered on a cloudy and muddy day in early March 1865 -- is the gold standard insofar as second inaugural addresses are concerned. It is, indeed, the one speech re-elected presidents should strive to emulate -- especially those facing difficult and divisive times.

Although the United States was still coping with a bloody Civil War in the days before he delivered his famous remarks (even though the conflict was practically over), Lincoln sought reconciliation between both sides by bringing meaning to the unprecedented carnage and bloodshed -- namely,...