History at Home: Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural: The Story of a Presidential Masterpiece
Recorded Feb. 12, 2020
Shortly before lockdown, in February 2020, Abraham Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer joined us in our Robert H. Smith Auditorium and surveyed the 16th president’s majestic second “malice toward none” inaugural address. At the time, the speech generated entirely partisan responses—and even an assassination attempt. Exhausted yet determined, Lincoln re-interpreted America’s founding and lit the way for “peace among ourselves” after a long and bloody civil war. Listen to a recording of Holzer’s captivating talk below.

Image: Bronzed “Alvastone” reproduction by Alva Studios, Inc. that represents the final sketch made by Daniel Chester French for the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. Gift of Alva Studios, Inc.