. . . . 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.
Abraham Lincoln
First Inaugural Address
Monday, March 4, 1861
Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States.
February 12 is Lincoln’s birthday.
I’ve been thinking about these words today, which is the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, a man widely considered to be among the greatest of United States presidents.
Abraham Lincoln’s birthday used to be a state holiday. If February 12 fell on a weekday, there was no school. We all knew who Lincoln was, what the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation were. We lived in the great prairie state whose slogan was, and is, The Land of Lincoln. I always liked that. I liked knowing that good ol’ Abe spent a good part of his life, including the years leading up to his presidency, in Illinois. I still do.
” . . . the better angels of our nature”.
That simple phrase from the last paragraph, indeed, the last line of Lincoln’s first inaugural address, has always resonated with me.
Our better angels.
That we would all call upon those angels would be a great thing, don’t you agree?
I love that he lived here too. I was brought up among the Lincoln Sites. In some way, he belongs to all of us. One time many years ago, I was one of the tour guides for about fifty foreign “exchange students” hosted by area churches. They were mostly college and medical students who studied in the Chicago area. I was so impressed at how much they knew about Mr. Lincoln. At his tomb, I saw tears in many eyes and there was a young Japanese man that constantly and accurately quoted him. So, while he is part of all of us in Illinois, the World claims him as well.
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You are so right, Janet. Lincoln does belong to everyone. What an interesting and enlightening experience you had to be able to see Abraham Lincoln through the eyes of others and learn first hand the impact he had on the larger stage of the world. I am so grateful that you shared this here, Janet. Thank you.
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It’s a wonderful phrase indeed, Penny: and we will never be able to question its creator as to what led to its inclusion in such an important speech. I love his acknowledgement that strain happens: but there will always be a time when our best will redeem us. How uplifting.
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Thank you, Kate. Abraham Lincoln was a great orator, statesman, humanitarian and adept politician. He led the US through the dark days of the our Civil War in the 1860’s, which finally brought an end to slavery. You are so correct in saying his words were uplifting.
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Penny I’m doing some catch up and starting to read where I last left off in your blog… in many ways equally satisfying to sitting here at Elijah’s reading a book! 🙂
I won’t leave a couple weeks of comments for you to feel compelled to answer but I look forward to catching up with you and life on the cuff.
Since you wrote this piece on Abe Lincoln and “the better angels of our nature” a lot has been happening up in Madison Wis. and in several other states as well, which makes me think we are at a similar, but hopefully far less violent, crossroads in this country as the one Lincoln was dealing with in a country divided. For me “our better angels” can mean both, our ability to see past our differences and remain civil, as well as, having a willingness to stick our necks out and do the hard work of standing up for ideals – even when it may be uncomfortable to do so. Anyway, like all words of wisdom, Lincoln’s words still hold true!
I hope all is well with you, I shall see as I read on!
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My, but you have been catching up, Janet. Thank you for all the comments and the “likes”. I appreciate it, and what better place then Elijah’s?
Wow. When I think of all that has happened since I first posted it. Thank you for bringing it all into perspective here. So far, all has been relatively civil. We can only hope calm heads prevail.
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