Many Americans name Abraham Lincoln as their favorite president. His years in the White House were full of trouble, but his words and actions earn respect.
Soldiers were there to protect him as the president's carriage arrived on March 4, 1861, for the inauguration. Some in the 25,000 who attended said later they were relieved that no one took a shot at him. It was well known that he would defend the nation from being torn apart by southern slave states.
Lincoln identified the issue that was poised to do it: "One section of our country believes slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while the other believes it is wrong, and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute."
He asked the South to re-consider secession: "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 . . . 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."
(cont'd tomorrow)
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