150 Years Ago, a Civil War Time Line for Lincoln's Inaugural Address

Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, was elected President on November 6, 1860 with 180 electoral votes. During the intervening months between his election and inauguration the Civil War timeline witnessed the succession of seven states: South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. Lincoln left his home in Springfield, Illinois on February 11^th by train. He stopped in 16 cities and towns on his way to Washington, D.C. to speak to a nation already shocked by the inauguration of Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederacy a mere two weeks earlier.

The last leg of Lincoln's route to Washington was kept secret, and once in the District he was guarded by soldiers under the command of General Winfield Scott. The Capitol Building dome was under construction on March 4^th when Lincoln was sworn in by Chief Justice Roger Taney. The country, and primarily the South, was finally going to hear what Lincoln's stance would be regarding slavery, succession, and the potential for Civil War. Lincoln purposely had made no policy statements after his election and before his inauguration.

His speech immediately addressed the issue of States rights to allow slavery:

"Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republican Administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. ..... It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that- I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."

Lincoln then outlined his views on another very volatile issue of the times. What was to be Lincoln's stance on runaway slaves? His words were very clear. He quoted the Constitution.

"There is much controversy about the delivering up of fugitives from service or labor. The clause I now read is as plainly written in the Constitution as any other of its provisions:
No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall in consequence of any law or regulation therein be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due."

Lincoln also asserted his support of the Fugitive Slave Act, as long as free blacks were protected from being kidnapped and sold into slavery.

His address to the nation continues with remarkable clarity and firmness. The issues of states' rights and the enforcement of the Constitution are eloquently outlined.

Lincoln closed his First Inaugural Address with a direct admonition and plea to the southern states.

"In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to 'preserve, protect, and defend it.'
I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

Thus, Abraham Lincoln, now the 16^th President of the United States of America started his first term in office. His Civil War time line begins.

I would encourage you to read Lincoln's entire Inaugural Address available at the link below. It is a remarkable piece of American history, and gives tremendous insight into the man and the President.

Sources:
Years of personal history study
Lincoln's Inaugural Address