Excerpt from Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

Question

At this second appearing to take the oath of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention and engrosses the energies of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured. . . .

Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. . . .

The Almighty has his own purposes. “Woe into the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.” If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through his appointed time, he now wills to remove, and that he gives to both North and South this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to him? Fondly do we hope—fervently do we pray—that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”

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 will all nations.

- President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

Question
Which of the following does the excerpt most clearly suggest about Lincoln's plan for ending the war and reuniting the nation?

(1 point)
Responses

Lincoln's intent was to punish the South by imposing heavy consequences on the states of the Confederacy.

Lincoln was uncertain about how to end the war and had doubts about the nation's ability to come together.

Lincoln desired a peaceful resolution that would quickly restore the nation to how it was organized prior to the war.

Lincoln desired peace and sought to rejoin the states into one nation as smoothly as possible while also ending slavery.

Lincoln desired peace and sought to rejoin the states into one nation as smoothly as possible while also ending slavery.
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GPT-4o mini · Answer

The excerpt from Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address most clearly suggests that **Lincoln desired peace and sought to rejoin the states into one nation as smoothly as possible while also ending slavery**. This is evident in his call for charity and a commitment to care for those affected by the war, along with his acknowledgment of the need to address the moral and social issues at the heart of the conflict, particularly slavery. Lincoln emphasizes a spirit of reconciliation and healing rather than punishment.