Abraham Lincoln, Part 1

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VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English.

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By February first, eighteen-sixty-one, seven southern states had
withdrawn from the United States of America. They created their own
independent nation, the Confederate States of America. The south
seceded because a Republican, Abraham Lincoln, had been elected
president. Southerners believed Lincoln would support a
constitutional ban on slavery. They were afraid their way of life
was about to end.

I'm Harry Monroe. Today, Kay Gallant and I tell about the
beginning of Abraham Lincoln's administration.

VOICE TWO:

President-elect Lincoln traveled
by train from his home in Illinois to Washington, D.C. Along the
way, he stopped to make speeches. As he got closer to Washington, he
was warned that a mob was planning to attack the train. He had to
continue his trip in secret.

Lincoln arrived in Washington nine days before his inauguration.
It was a busy time. He talked with many people, including delegates
to a peace convention. Every state was represented at the
convention, except the states that had seceded. The delegates urged
Lincoln to support slavery. They urged him not to go to war over the
issue.

Lincoln said only that he would faithfully execute the duties of
President of all the United States. He said he would protect and
defend the American Constitution.

VOICE ONE:

While Lincoln waited for inauguration day, he chose the members
of his cabinet. He wanted men representing all opposing groups in
the Republican Party. He hoped this would unite the party and give
him support in the difficult years ahead.

Lincoln chose William Seward as Secretary of State. Salmon Chase
as Treasury Secretary. Gideon Welles as Navy Secretary. And
Montgomery Blair as Postmaster General.

Seward did not like Chase, Welles, or Blair. He told Lincoln that
he could not serve in the cabinet with them. He said they would
never be able to work together. Lincoln answered that he would be
happy to make Seward Ambassador to Britain, instead of Secretary of
State. Seward gave up the argument and agreed to join the cabinet.

VOICE TWO:

Inauguration day was the fourth of
March. President-elect Lincoln rode to the ceremony with out-going
President James Buchanan. Buchanan was ready to give up his power.
He told Lincoln: "If you are as happy to get into the White House as
I am to get out of it, you must be the happiest man alive!"

The inaugural ceremony took place outside the Capitol building.
Lincoln was to give his inaugural speech before being sworn-in.

He had worked hard on the speech. He wanted to say clearly what
his policy would be on slavery and secession. These were the issues
which divided the country. These were the issues which were leading
the country to civil war.

This is what Lincoln said:

VOICE ONE:

"There seems to be some fear among the people of the southern
states, that because a Republican administration is coming to power,
their property and their peace and personal security are threatened.
There has never been any reasonable cause for such fears. In fact,
much evidence to the contrary has existed, open to their inspection.
It is found in nearly all my published speeches.

"In one of those speeches, I declared that I had no purpose --
directly or indirectly -- to interfere with the institution of
slavery in the states where it exists. I said I believed I had no
legal right to do so, and no wish to do so.

"This statement is still true. I can only say that the property,
peace, and security of no part of the country are to be in any way
endangered by the incoming administration."

VOICE TWO:

Lincoln noted that seventy-two years had passed since the first
president was inaugurated. Since then, he said, fifteen men had led
the nation through many dangers, generally with great success. He
went on:

VOICE ONE:

"I now begin the same job under great difficulty. The breaking up
of the federal Union -- before, only threatened -- now, is
attempted. I believe that under universal law and the Constitution,
the Union of these states is permanent. This is shown by the history
of the Union itself.

"The Union is much older than the Constitution. It was formed, in
fact, by the Articles of Association in seventeen-seventy-four. It
was continued by the Declaration of Independence in
seventeen-seventy-six. It grew further under the Articles of
Confederation in seventeen-seventy-eight. And finally, in
seventeen-eighty-seven, one of the declared reasons for establishing
the Constitution of the United States was to form 'a more perfect
Union'.

"I therefore believe that, in view of the Constitution and the
laws, the Union is not broken. I shall make sure, as the
Constitution orders me to do, that the laws of the Union are obeyed
in all the states. In doing this, there needs to be no bloodshed or
violence. And there shall be none, unless it be forced upon the
national government.

"The power given to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess
the property and places belonging to the government, and to collect
the taxes. But beyond what is necessary for these purposes, there
will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people
anywhere."

VOICE TWO:

Lincoln then repeated some statements he had made during his
campaign for president. He used them to explain the differences
between north and south.

One part of the country, he said, believes slavery is right and
should be extended. The other part believes slavery is wrong and
should not be extended. This, he said, was the only important
dispute.

Lincoln admitted that, even if the dispute could be settled
peacefully, there were those who wanted to see the Union destroyed.
He said his words were not meant for them. They were meant only for
those people who really loved the Union. He said:

VOICE ONE:

"Physically speaking, we cannot separate. We cannot remove our
sections from each other nor build an impassable wall between them.
A husband and wife may be divorced and go away from or out of the
reach of each other. But the different parts of our country cannot
do this. They must remain face to face. And relations -- friendly or
hostile -- must continue between them.

"Is it possible to make those relations better after separation
than before. Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can make
laws. Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than
laws can be enforced among friends.

"My countrymen -- one and all -- think calmly and well upon this
subject. Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time.

"In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen -- and not in
mine -- is the great issue of civil war. The government will not
attack you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the
aggressors.

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though
emotion may have damaged them, it must not break our ties of love."

VOICE TWO:

Abraham Lincoln then placed his hand on the Christian holy book,
the Bible. The Chief Justice of the United States then spoke the
presidential oath. Lincoln repeated the words. And the United States
had a new president.

Lincoln's first crisis came quickly. It was a problem left
unsolved by the out-going president.

Lincoln had to decide immediately what to do about the federal
fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina: Fort Sumter. The
fort was surrounded by southern artillery. Southern gunboats guarded
the harbor. The federal troops inside Fort Sumter were getting
dangerously low on food. But any attempt to send more men or
supplies would be seen as an act of war...civil war.

That will be our story next week.

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VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to the Special English program, THE
MAKING OF A NATION. Your narrators were Harry Monroe and Kay
Gallant. Our program was written by Frank Beardsley.