TAH.org’s first Documents in Detail webinar aired on Wednesday, 25 January 2017, focusing on Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. Professors John Moser, Eric Sands, and Joe Fornieri discussed a number of perspectives on the document, from the prominence of Biblical language throughout, to the political impact of and reaction to the address. The scholars also discussed a counter-factual question regarding how Lincoln might have navigated the minefield of Reconstruction differently – and perhaps more successfully – than his successor, Andrew Johnson.
Suggested further reading is Lincoln’s Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural, by Ronald White.
Access the full archive of the program, and related documents, here.
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Note: there is a slight echo on one scholar’s voice at about the 34-minute mark, which lasts for about 20 seconds. It is the only place where this audio issue came up during the program.