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Recalling Abraham Lincoln of the Anniversary of the Gettysburg Address
By John Carey (about the author) Page 2 of 2 page(s)
Noah Brooks for the Sacramento Daily Union described the scene: "For twenty minutes did he run on about Tennessee, adjuring Senators to do their duty when she sent two Senators here, urging that she never was out of the Union, etc. In vain did [outgoing Vice President Hannibal] Hamlin nudge him from behind, audibly reminding him that the hour for the inauguration ceremony had passed; he kept on, though the President of the United States sat before him patiently waiting for his tirade to be over."
The New York World reported that the Vice President tried, in vain, to address many participants by name. In a comical scene, "Turning toward the Cabinet, he said: 'And I will say to you, Mr. Secretary Seward, and to you, Mr. Secretary Stanton, and to you, Mr. Secretary - (To a gentleman nearby, soto voce, 'Who is Secretary of the Navy?' The person addressed replied in a whisper, 'Mr. Welles')-and to you, Mr. Secretary Welles, I would say, you derive your power from the people.'
He even rambled, almost incoherently. "I am a-goin' for to tell you here to-day; yes, I'm a-goin for to tell you all, that I'm a plebian! I glory in it; I am a plebian! The people-yes, the people of the United States have made me what I am; and I am a-goin' for to tell you here to-day-yes, to-day, in this place-that the people are everything."
One member of the Senate, Zachariah Chandler, wrote his wife: "The inauguration went off very well except that the Vice President Elect was too drunk to perform his duties and disgraced himself and the Senate by making a drunken foolish speech. I was so mortified in my life, had I been able to find a hole I would have dropped through in out of sight."
The President later said: "I have known Andy for many years...he made a bad slip the other day, but you need not be scared. Andy ain't a drunkard." Forney quoted the President as observing: "It has been a severe lesson for Andy, but I do not think he will do it again."
According to observers, President Lincoln remained calm, if not sublimely serene, during the totality of his Vice President's embarrassing speech. Newsmen reported that Lincoln's eyes were closed during much of Johnson's ordeal.
At the end of the day, President Lincoln gave perhaps his best oration ever.
"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."
Only 701 words long, many at the time thought Lincoln's speech too short. But Abraham Lincoln himself regarded the Second Inaugural at his finest speech.
In his Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural, Lincoln demonstrated greatness. His polite demeanor and self effacing humility only add luster to his memorable words.
About the Gettysburg Train Station:
http://www.washtimes.com/civilwar/20061110-090600-9319r.htm
http://www.suvcw.org/RembrDay/Train.html
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