Speech: First Inaugural Address

Occasion and Purpose
Delivered on March 4, 1861, as seven Southern states had declared secession and a new Confederacy was forming, Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address sought to calm fears, clarify constitutional duties, and avert war. He spoke both to the North and the South, reassuring slaveholding states that the incoming administration would not disrupt their domestic institutions, while affirming an unwavering obligation to preserve the Union and enforce federal law.

Union, Law, and Secession
Lincoln contends that the Union is older than the Constitution, created first under the Articles of Confederation and then made “more perfect” by the Constitution, whose very nature implies perpetuity. No state can lawfully secede on its own; at most, secession is a revolutionary act, not a constitutional one. He emphasizes that his oath “to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution” requires him to execute the laws in all states. He will “hold, occupy, and possess” federal property and places, and “collect the duties and imposts,” using only what is necessary to that end. Beyond these limited objects, there is no intention to assail or menace the Southern population.

Slavery and Federal Policy
To dispel Southern alarm, Lincoln reiterates what he has “no lawful right” to do: interfere with slavery where it already exists. He notes that this position has been declared repeatedly, is part of the Republican platform, and could even be made explicit by constitutional amendment. Referring to a proposed amendment that would forever prohibit federal interference with state slavery, later known as the Corwin Amendment, he states he has no objection to such an express guarantee, believing the Constitution already implies that restraint.

On the Fugitive Slave Clause, Lincoln affirms the constitutional obligation for the return of persons held to service, urging good faith performance by all states. At the same time, he supports safeguards to protect free persons from being wrongfully seized, suggesting procedural improvements that uphold both the constitutional mandate and basic justice. He warns against allowing any single Supreme Court decision to fix national policy irreversibly, arguing that while judicial rulings bind the parties, a free people must govern future policy through lawful majorities under constitutional limits.

Majority Rule and Constitutional Remedies
At the heart of his argument lies a defense of majority rule tempered by constitutional safeguards. If a minority can lawfully break the Union when it loses an election, government becomes “anarchy.” Disagreements over policy must be settled by ballots and by constitutional methods, not by unilateral secession. If the public will demands change, the Constitution provides mechanisms for amendment, including, if desired, a convention of the states. Thus the remedy for dissatisfaction is lawful revision, not disunion.

Conciliation, Restraint, and Responsibility
Lincoln pledges restraint: no bloodshed or violence unless forced upon the national authority. He promises to continue postal service and avoid sending federal officers where duties cannot be safely performed, underscoring that the federal government will not be the aggressor. The choice between peace and war, he says, lies substantially in the hands of those who would resist the laws. He appeals to shared history and sentiment, “We are not enemies, but friends”, and closes with a plea that the “mystic chords of memory” be touched by the “better angels of our nature,” so that reason, affection, and constitutional fidelity can keep the Union whole.